2016 NBL Finals
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 | |
| Dates | 16 February – 6 March 2016 |
|---|---|
The 2016 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2015–16 NBL season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Perth Wildcats defeated the New Zealand Breakers in three games (2–1) to claim their seventh NBL championship.
Format
The 2015–16 National Basketball League Finals were played in February and March 2016 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and final series, where the higher seed hosts the first and third games.[1]
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of qualification |
Round of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Previous appearance |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne United | 29 January 2016 | 17 | 18th | 2014 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008) |
| Perth Wildcats | 5 February 2016 | 18 | 30th | 2015 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014) |
| Illawarra Hawks | 6 February 2016 | 18 | 19th | 2014 | Champions (2001) |
| New Zealand Breakers | 12 February 2016 | 19 | 7th | 2015 | Champions (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) |
Ladder
| Pos | 2015–16 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Melbourne United1 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 2–3 | L2 | 11–3 | 7–7 | 2384 | 2342 | 101.79% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats1 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 3–2 | W1 | 12–2 | 6–8 | 2391 | 2266 | 105.52% |
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 3–2 | W2 | 11–3 | 6–8 | 2637 | 2486 | 106.07% |
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 5–0 | W5 | 11–3 | 5–9 | 2357 | 2282 | 103.29% |
| 5 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50.00% | 1–4 | L4 | 10–4 | 4–10 | 2495 | 2500 | 99.80% |
| 6 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 2–3 | L2 | 11–3 | 1–13 | 2238 | 2354 | 95.07% |
| 7 | Townsville Crocodiles | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 3–2 | W2 | 8–6 | 3–11 | 2271 | 2390 | 95.02% |
| 8 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 6 | 22 | 21.43% | 1–4 | L1 | 5–9 | 1–13 | 2416 | 2569 | 94.04% |
Updated to match(es) played on 14 February 2016. 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.
| 2015–16 NBL season | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cairns Taipans | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Melbourne United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sydney Kings | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
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 results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 82 | 78 | X | |||||||||
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 91 | 91 | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 82 | 68 | 75 | |||||||||
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 76 | 72 | 52 | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 80 | 87 | 89 | |||||||||
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 68 | 104 | 74 | |||||||||
Semi-finals series
(1) Melbourne United vs (4) New Zealand Breakers
Game 1
18 February 2016
7:30pm EDT |
| Melbourne United 82, New Zealand Breakers 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16-27, 25-11, 17-24, 24-29 | ||
| Pts: Hakim Warrick 24 Rebs: Hakim Warrick 13 Asts: Stephen Holt 4 |
Pts: Cedric Jackson 20 Rebs: Mika Vukona 13 Asts: Mika Vukona 5 | |
| New Zealand leads series, 1–0 | ||
Game 2
20 February 2016
7:30pm NZDT |
| New Zealand Breakers 91, Melbourne United 78 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23-17, 18-29, 17-11, 33-21 | ||
| Pts: Thomas Abercrombie 23 Rebs: Mika Vukona 9 Asts: Cedric Jackson 5 |
Pts: Chris Goulding 23 Rebs: Todd Blanchfield 8 Asts: Nate Tomlinson 5 | |
| New Zealand win series, 2–0 | ||
Regular season series
New Zealand won 3–1 in the regular season series:
(2) Perth Wildcats vs (3) Illawarra Hawks
Game 1
19 February 2016
6:30pm WST |
| Perth Wildcats 80, Illawarra Hawks 68 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15-18, 24-18, 21-15, 20-17 | ||
| Pts: Casey Prather 19 Rebs: Tom Jervis 8 Asts: Damian Martin 6 |
Pts: Tim Coenraad 23 Rebs: Andrew Ogilvy 11 Asts: Rhys Martin 4 | |
| Perth leads series, 1-0 | ||
Game 2
21 February 2016
3:00pm EDT |
| Illawarra Hawks 104, Perth Wildcats 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-26, 28-24, 27-16, 21-16 | ||
| Pts: Oscar Forman 21 Rebs: Andrew Ogilvy 7 Asts: Kirk Penney 7 |
Pts: Casey Prather 21 Rebs: Nathan Jawai 8 Asts: Damian Martin 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Attendance: TBA Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Matt Beattie, Chris Reid |
Game 3
26 February 2016
6:30pm WST |
| Perth Wildcats 89, Illawarra Hawks 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22-20, 27-22, 21-14, 19-18 | ||
| Pts: Jermaine Beal 17 Rebs: Matthew Knight 9 Asts: Casey Prather 4 |
Pts: Kirk Penney 18 Rebs: Andrew Ogilvy 11 Asts: Andrew Ogilvy 5 | |
| Perth wins series, 2-1 | ||
Regular season series
Perth won 4-0 in the regular season series:
Grand Final series
(2) Perth Wildcats vs (4) New Zealand Breakers
Game 1
2 March 2016
6:30pm WST |
| Perth Wildcats 82, New Zealand Breakers 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-14, 21-24, 18-23, 19-15 | ||
| Pts: Nathan Jawai 15 Rebs: Damian Martin 10 Asts: Damian Martin 5 |
Pts: Corey Webster 19 Rebs: Charles Jackson 10 Asts: Cedric Jackson 2 | |
| Perth leads series, 1-0 | ||
Game 2
4 March 2016
7:30pm NZDT |
| New Zealand Breakers 72, Perth Wildcats 68 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16-17, 21-14, 19-19, 16-18 | ||
| Pts: Cedric Jackson 13 Rebs: Cedric Jackson 9 Asts: Cedric Jackson 8 |
Pts: Jermaine Beal 20 Rebs: Matthew Knight 6 Asts: Jermaine Beal 4 | |
| Series tied, 1-1 | ||
North Shore Events Centre, Auckland
Attendance: TBA Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Chris Reid |
Game 3
6 March 2016
2:30pm WST |
| Perth Wildcats 75, New Zealand Breakers 52 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22-18, 20-12, 15-8, 18-14 | ||
| Pts: Casey Prather 19 Rebs: Matthew Knight 11 Asts: Jesse Wagstaff 5 |
Pts: Thomas Abercrombie 21 Rebs: Charles Jackson 12 Asts: Corey Webster 4 | |
| Perth wins series and NBL Championship, 2–1 | ||
Regular season series
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 347-327 points differential to New Zealand:
See also
References
- ^ "Swisse partners with NBL to launch Swisse NBL Finals Series". NBL.com.au. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.