Brazil
The semifinals concluded in Brazil this week, starting on Thursday with the series where the visiting team was trying to clinch a spot in the finals. Top seed Sampaio bounced back from the opening game loss though for a big win over Sao Jose dos Campos. They then advanced on Saturday with another decisive victory. Araraquara finished a sweep in the other series by defeating Campinas on Sunday.
Australia
The West conference was the last to finish their regular season in NBL1 as the Perry Lakes Hawks set their playoff seeding with a win on Saturday. The top two teams met on Friday with the Cockburn Cougars getting the win over the Warwick Senators to finish with a perfect record.
The North conference started their playoffs, which is a straight bracket format with the top two teams getting a bye. On Friday, Unique Thompson had 30 points to lead the fourth place Mackay Meteorettes to the win over the fifth place Sunshine Coast Phoenix. The third place Cairns Dolphins advanced on Saturday after a win over the sixth place Townsville Flames.
The playoffs continued in the South conference with a pair of elimination games on Saturday. The Diamond Valley Eagles got the win first against the Dandenong Rangers to set up a meeting with undefeated Geelong. The Keilor Thunder just got past the Waverley Falcons to play the Knox Raiders next.
The East conference playoffs also had elimination games on Saturday as the Newcastle Falcons got past the Bankstown Bruins to face the first place Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next. The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence ended the season of the Albury Wodonga Bandits, setting up a game with the Norths Bears next.
There were two games in the Central conference playoffs. The elimination game started first as the Woodville Warriors got the win over the West Adelaide Bearcats to advance. Their next opponent would be the loser of the game between the top two teams. That game would award the winner a spot in the final and the Sturt Sabres prevailed against the first place Forestville Eagles.
The Big V top division finished their regular season this weekend and the Bellarine Storm managed to hang on to finish all alone in first place. The Pakenham Warriors finished behind them with a win over the McKinnon Cougars. The Wyndham Wildcats finished in last place courtesy of a defeat to the Warrnambool Mermaids, but did close the season with a 34 point effort from Ella Macleod.
The other two divisions started their playoffs this week with the middle division playing games on Saturday. The first game would determine who was moving within a game of the finals and the second place Whittlesea Pacers prevailed against the third place Altona Gators. The other matchup was an elimination game that the Western Port Steelers won over the Melbourne University Black Angels.
In the bottom division, third place Gippsland got the win over the second place Wallan Panthers with 21 rebounds from Ellie Coutts on Saturday to get on the track for the championship game. The elimination game was on Sunday and the fourth place Blackburn Vikings got a 10 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist triple-double from Rebecca Cunningham to roll past the fifth place Surf Coast Chargers.
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