Brazil
Before the finals started on Sunday, there was a third place game on Thursday between the two teams that lost in the quarterfinals and it was Sao Jose dos Campos that used a strong second half to defeat Campinas. As the top seed, Sampaio gets to host the first two games. Araraquara looked ready to flip that homecourt advantage early, but had to recover late to finish stealing the opener.
Australia
The playoffs finally started in the West conference as teams across the country try to make the national NBL1 tournament. The top four teams met on Friday to try to advance and avoid the early elimination game. Teams tied in the standings faced off with the second place Warwick Senators withstanding a 33 point game from Anneli Maley to get past the third place Perth Redbacks. Even though the Cockburn Cougars were undefeated and the runaway top seed, they just edged the fourth place Rockingham Flames. The next four teams played elimination games on Saturday and Claire Jacobs had 35 points in an easy win for the fifth place Mandurah Magic over the eighth place East Perth Eagles. Jayda Clark had 31 points to help the sixth place Perry Lakes Hawks get the win over the seventh place Willetton Tigers.
The championship game is set in the South conference with the top two teams in the regular season meeting in the finale. The Knox Raiders advanced first on Saturday with a win over the fourth place Keilor Thunder, which got 32 points from Maddison Rocci. Geelong remains undefeated, but it took a strong fourth quarter to get them past the seventh place Diamond Valley Eagles.
The top two teams in the North conference got a bye to Saturday’s semifinals and both advanced. It was easier for the Southern Districts Spartans, which got past the fourth place Mackay Meteorettes. The other game was fantastic, going two overtimes before the Logan Thunder could prevail against the third place Cairns Dolphins.
The youngsters of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence continued their run from fifth place in the East conference, knocking out the second place Norths Bears. The other game on Saturday went to the top seed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, which got past the third place Newcastle Falcons.
There was only one game in the Central conference as Saturday’s showdown would determine which team advanced to face the Sturt Sabres in the final. Jasmin Fejo was excellent for the fifth place Woodville Warriors, scoring 32 points to help them knock out the top seed Forestville Eagles.
The playoffs started in Big V’s top division and the Pakenham Warriors raced out to a win over the McKinnon Cougars, which will drop into an elimination game. The other game would end the season for the loser and Oliana Squires had 33 points, but it was not enough for the Sherbrooke Suns against the Bulleen Boomers. In the middle division, the top seed Craigieburn Eagles advanced to the championship with a win over the Whittlesea Pacers. The Western Port Steelers prevailed in a tight second half to eliminate the Altona Gators. In the bottom division, the top seed Keysborough Cougars needed a strong second half to advance to the championship game with a win over Gippsland. Emmie Gardner had 20 rebounds for the Wallan Panthers to eliminate the Blackburn Vikings, which got 20 rebounds from Amy List.
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