Wolves, Slammers win through to men's grand final (Week 2 Saturday night Semi Final SBL wrap)

THE 2015 men's SBL grand finalists have been decided with the Joondalup Wolves and South West Slammers both wrapping up their semi-final series with Game 2 victories on their home court on Saturday night.

Just 24 hours after the Rockingham Flames and Willetton set up their meeting in next Friday night's women's SBL grand final, the men's championship decider will take place on Saturday night between the Wolves and Slammers at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Both Game 2 men's semi-final matches took place on Saturday night with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beating the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 119-108 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers also defeated the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 100-95 at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The Wolfpack finished the regular season three games clear on top of the men's standings, but they had a tough time in the quarter finals needing three tight games to advance over the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The Flames also needed three games in the quarter finals to overcome the Cockburn Cougars meaning both teams were in the playoff groove coming into the semi-final battle.

The Wolves were able to win Game 1 last Friday night in Rockingham 99-88 and then were able to move straight into the grand final with an 11-point win at home on Saturday night.

The Flames were able to get off to a good start with 31 first quarter points to lead by four at quarter-time, but the Wolves got going in the second quarter with 32 points themselves to enter half-time leading 59-52.

However, Rockingham wasn’t going to lie down without giving its all and the Flames were able to deliver a dominant third period with 29 points to 20 to be in front heading into the fourth quarter.

It was all Joondalup in that fourth period, though, with the Wolves piling on a massive 40 points to win by 11 and move straight into next Saturday night's grand final.

Trian Iliadis had a massive night for the Wolfpack finishing with 36 points and six assists while hitting a remarkable 8-of-13 from three-point territory.

Kevin Davis was also outstanding for the Wolves with 33 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

Rob Huntington added 23 points, Seb Salinas 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Damian Matacz nine points and five boards. Joel Questel also made a solid all-round contribution with five points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Ryan Godfrey did all he could for the Flames with 30 points while hitting 10-of-20 from the field, and 6-of-13 from three-point range.

Taylor Land contributed 26 points, five rebounds and five assists for Rockingham with Cooper Land adding 20 points, five boards and five assists, and Tom Remmerswaal 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Slammers had an up and down regular season largely dependent on the availability of their squad, but they still did well to finish in third position at the end of the regular season and then proved too good for the Willetton Tigers in the quarter finals.

The Giants, meanwhile, lost their first eight games of the season but then finished on fire to end up in seventh position and to then upset last year's grand finalists the Geraldton Buccaneers in two games in the quarter finals.

The Slammers then won Game 1 of the semi finals in an overtime thriller last Saturday night in Kalgoorlie, and then booked their place in the grand final thanks to another tight five-point win at home on Saturday night.

The Giants got off to a good start to open up an eight-point lead at quarter-time but by half-time the Slammers had hit back to cut the lead for the Goldfields to just three points.

The home team then got going in the third period piling on 36 points to 27 and then they were able to withstand a charge from the Giants in the fourth quarter to hold and win by five points to advance to the grand final, and end Goldfields' remarkable second half of the season.

MVP-candidate Tre Nichols had another big game for the Slammers with 31 points, four rebounds and two steals on the back of shooting 11-of-20 from the field.

Brian Voelkel added 25 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals as well for South West on the back of shooting 8-of-12 from the floor.

Jordan Hickert contributed 15 points and seven boards for the Slammers with playing-coach Ty Harrelson returning and adding 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Trent Worthington also had eight points for South West and Wade Hitchcock eight points as well.

Mathiang Muo did all he could for the Giants ending the night with 29 points, eight rebounds and three assists while nailing 9-of-17 from the floor, and 4-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc.

Jacob Holmen added 26 points, six boards and two blocked shots for Goldfield while hitting 12-of-21 from the field with Jay Bowie finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Brandon Hewitt-Holloway 10 points, Mike Exell nine points and seven boards, and Russell Hurst seven points and seven rebounds.

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 119 defeated Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 108
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 100 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 95

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Ashley Pearce




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