2019 NBL Finals
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia New Zealand |
| Dates | 28 February – 17 March 2019 |
| Defending champions | Melbourne United |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Attendance | 84,212 (10,527 per match) |
The 2019 NBL Finals were the championship series of the 2018–19 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 28 February and ended 3 March 2019, making way for the Grand Final series to commence on 8 March and end on 17 March 2018. The Perth Wildcats were 3-1 victors over Melbourne United in the best of 5 series, winning their ninth NBL championship title.[1]
Format
The finals were played in February and March 2020 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.[2]
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of
qualification |
Round of
qualification |
Finals
appearance |
Previous
appearance |
Previous best
performance |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth Wildcats | 1 February 2019 | 16 | 33rd | 2018 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017) | [3] |
| Melbourne United | 3 February 2020 | 16 | 23rd | 2018 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018) | [4] |
| Sydney Kings | 3 February 2019 | 16 | 14th | 2013 | Champions (2003, 2004, 2005) | [5] |
| Brisbane Bullets | 17 February 2019 | 18 | 21st | 2008 | Champions (1985, 1987, 2007) | [6] |
Ladder
| Pos | 2018–19 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Perth Wildcats1 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 4–1 | L1 | 12–2 | 6–8 | 2499 | 2355 | 106.11% |
| 2 | Melbourne United1 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–4 | 8–6 | 2586 | 2478 | 104.36% |
| 3 | Sydney Kings1 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 4–1 | W1 | 9–5 | 9–5 | 2438 | 2380 | 102.44% |
| 4 | Brisbane Bullets2 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50.00% | 2–3 | W1 | 9–5 | 5–9 | 2503 | 2480 | 100.93% |
| 5 | Adelaide 36ers2 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50.00% | 2–3 | L2 | 6–8 | 8–6 | 2687 | 2681 | 100.22% |
| 6 | New Zealand Breakers3 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 2–3 | L1 | 7–7 | 5–9 | 2649 | 2641 | 100.30% |
| 7 | Illawarra Hawks3 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 1–4 | L3 | 8–6 | 4–10 | 2493 | 2664 | 93.58% |
| 8 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 6 | 22 | 21.43% | 2–3 | L1 | 3–11 | 3–11 | 2400 | 2576 | 93.17% |
Updated to match(es) played on 17 February 2019. Source: NBL.com.au===Ladder progression===
- Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
| 2018–19 NBL season | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Cairns Taipans | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Melbourne United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Perth Wildcats | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sydney Kings | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Seedings
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.
Playoff Bracket
| Semi-finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Perth Wildcats | 89 | 84 | X | |||||||||||
| 4 | Brisbane Bullets | 59 | 79 | X | |||||||||||
| 1 | Perth Wildcats | 81 | 74 | 96 | 97 | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Melbourne United | 71 | 92 | 67 | 82 | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Melbourne United | 95 | 90 | X | |||||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Kings | 73 | 76 | X | |||||||||||
Semi-Finals Series
(2) Melbourne United vs. (3) Sydney Kings
28 February 2019
19:50 |
| Melbourne United 95, Sydney Kings 73 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 28–11, 19–18, 24–20 | ||
| Pts: Ware 22 Rebs: Boone 7 Asts: Ware 7 |
Pts: Newley 17 Rebs: Bogut 7 Asts: three players 3 | |
| Melbourne leads series, 1–0 | ||
3 March 2019
14:20 |
| Sydney Kings 76, Melbourne United 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-22, 16-20, 18-25, 18-23 | ||
| Pts: Adnam, Lisch 13 Rebs: Bogut 12 Asts: Bogut, Randle 5 |
Pts: Ware 30 Rebs: Boone 8 Asts: McCarron 5 | |
| Melbourne wins series, 2–0 | ||
(1) Perth Wildcats vs. (4) Brisbane Bullets
28 February 2019
19:20 |
| Perth Wildcats 89, Brisbane Bullets 59 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23-16, 18-24, 30-15, 18-4 | ||
| Pts: Cotton 22 Rebs: Kay 10 Asts: Cotton 6 |
Pts: Gliddon 18 Rebs: Hodgson 7 Asts: Patterson 6 | |
| Perth leads series, 1–0 | ||
2 March 2019
13:50 |
| Brisbane Bullets 79, Perth Wildcats 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20-25, 21-24, 21-20, 17-15 | ||
| Pts: Patterson 19 Rebs: Bairstow 7 Asts: Gibson 5 |
Pts: White 24 Rebs: Kay 15 Asts: Cotton 10 | |
| Perth wins series, 2–0 | ||
Grand Final Series
(1) Perth Wildcats vs. (2) Melbourne United
8 March 2019
19:20 |
| Perth Wildcats 81, Melbourne United 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14-13, 15-20, 31-14, 21-24 | ||
| Pts: White 19 Rebs: Cotton, White 8 Asts: Cotton 8 |
Pts: Ware 19 Rebs: Boone 12 Asts: Ware 4 | |
| Perth leads series, 1–0 | ||
10 March 2019
14:50 |
| Melbourne United 92, Perth Wildcats 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20-20, 22-21, 26-16, 24-17 | ||
| Pts: Goulding, Ware 14 Rebs: Kennedy 14 Asts: Kennedy, McCarron 4 |
Pts: Cotton 19 Rebs: Kay 8 Asts: Cotton, White 4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
15 March 2019
19:35 |
| Perth Wildcats 96, Melbourne United 67 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21-16, 21-20, 28-15, 26-16 | ||
| Pts: White 31 Rebs: Kay, White 7 Asts: Cotton 10 |
Pts: Barlow, Kennedy 13 Rebs: Kenndey 10 Asts: Kennedy 6 | |
| Perth leads series, 2–1 | ||
17 March 2019
14:20 |
| Melbourne United 84, Perth Wildcats 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28-26, 17-27, 12-15, 27-29 | ||
| Pts: Ware 18 Rebs: Boone 7 Asts: Goulding, Ware 4 |
Pts: Cotton 28 Rebs: Kay 10 Asts: Martin 6 | |
| Perth wins series, 3–1 | ||
References
- ^ Ward, Roy (2019-03-17). "Perth win ninth NBL title with game 4 victory over Melbourne United". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Kings lock in finals spot after blowout win over the Bullets". www.sydneykings.com. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". www.brisbanebullets.com.au. Retrieved 2020-04-05.