South Recap | Preliminary Finals

Image credit: Rachel Louise - Rachel Louise Photography @rachellouisephotographyau

Geelong United and Knox Raiders booked in their spots in the NBL1 South women's grand final as did the Sandringham Sabres and Melbourne Tigers men with Ben Ayre starring with 38 points and Tom Wilson 42 in a miraculous fightback.

SOUTH RECAP | SEMI FINALS

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NEWLY RETIRED PINEAU FOCUSED ON SABRES SUCCESS

WOMEN

Knox Raiders (80) defeated Keilor Thunder (73)

Both teams went with short rotations with a grand final spot on the line and it was Paige Bradley ultimately the difference with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead the Knox Raiders to the 80-73 win over Keilor Thunder.

The preliminary final took place at Dandenong Basketball Stadium with Knox earning the hosting rights but unable to play at the State Basketball Centre during its redevelopment.

Knox finished the regular season in second place and having won 11 straight matches before a tight win in a low-scoring affair against the Dandenong Rangers in the qualifying final.

That earned them the week off while Keilor finished fifth at 16-6 but regained both Maddy Rocci and Issie Bourne for the finals, and went on to beat the Frankston Blues and Waverley Falcons to book in the meeting with the Raiders in the preliminary final.

Keilor came into the game without Jasmine Dickey, Madeline Puli and Lily Carmody with Kristi Harrower to back in her starters for the majority of the 40 minutes to try and get them into the grand final.

Keilor got off to an impressive start with a nine-point lead in the first quarter and they were still on top 23-19 by the end of one.

That lead for the Thunder grew to 10 points in the second frame and by half-time they were still on top 46-37.

Knox responded in the third quarter with 26 points to 18 but it was still the Thunder clinging to the one-point lead.

But in the fourth quarter, Keilor ran out of gas and Knox outscored them 17 points to nine while shooting 6/18 from the field but holding the Thunder to 1/12 with all but three of those attempts coming from three-point territory.

That saw Knox end up outscoring Keilor 43 points to 25 in the second half to claim the seven-point victory while pulling down 14 offensive rebounds to eight, and forcing Keilor into 17 turnovers while having just six themselves.

That combined to see the Raiders attempted 22 extra shots for the game to end up winning their way into the grand final as they attempt to make up for last year's finals straight sets exit after a 20-2 regular season.

Paige Bradley was tremendous in the win for Knox finishing with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds on 10/14 field goal shooting.

Alicia Froling also provided 14 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, Kristy Wallace 11 points, three boards and three assists, Rachel Bell 10 points and two steals, and Paige Burrows nine points on 3/5 three-point shooting.

Keilor's season has fallen one stop short of last year's grand final appearance with Issie Bourne and Maddy Rocci playing 40 minutes of the game with Isobelle Wightman also playing 38:50, Penina Davidson 32:53 and Macey Boyle 30:44.

Rocci ended the night with 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Davidson 18 points and four boards, Bourne 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Boyle six points and six boards.

KNOX RAIDERS 80 (Bradley 26, Froling 14, Wallace 11)

KEILOR THUNDER 73 (Rocci 32, Davidson 18, Bourne 14)

Geelong United (80) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (72)

The undefeated season of Geelong United was under threat all evening from the Diamond Valley Eagles but they ended up outscoring them 19 points to 10 in the last 10 minutes to advance to the grand final with the 80-72 win.

It always shaped as potentially being Geelong's biggest test all season to stay undefeated in the preliminary final at The Geelong Arena up against a Diamond Valley team featuring the likes of Steph Reid, Abbey Ellis and Lara McSpadden.

Geelong came into the game after the perfect regular season with a 22-0 record before beating Keilor Thunder in a hard fought qualifying final to earn the week off.

Diamond Valley did end the regular season in seventh place having lost three of their last five matches but a lot of that was due to both Reid and Ellis being part of the Australian Opals triumph at the Asia Cup.

The Eagles went on to beat the Frankston Blues and Dandenong Rangers in the first two week of the finals to book in their preliminary final appearance.

Diamond Valley had the better of the start and led by as much as six points in the opening quarter and were still leading 19-17 by quarter-time.

No more than four points separated the two teams through the second quarter and by half-time it was Diamond Valley clinging to the 37-36 lead on the back of shooting 14/31 to Geelong's 14/35.

The Eagles then managed to open up a six-point lead in the third frame but by three quarter-time Geelong had worked back to have scores all tied up heading into the final period with a grand final spot up for grabs.

Diamond Valley were still clinging to a one-point lead after a pair of free throws to Lara McSpadden with five minutes to play, but Geelong was able to take charge from that point starting with a three ball to Jaz Shelley.

Hannah Hank then scored after an offensive rebound before Shelly hit another three ball and Gemma Potter hit another from downtown, and suddenly Geelong were out to an eight-point lead in the space of three minutes.

Geelong would end up outscoring Diamond Valley 19 points to 10 in those final 10 minutes to improve to a 22-0 record in 2025 to advance to a grand final next Saturday night against the Knox Raiders.

Lilly Rotunno has just signed to play at the Venom this WNBL season and delivered 22 points and four assists in the win for Geelong with 8/14 field goal shooting.

Gemma Potter added 21 points, 14 rebounds and three assists with 4/10 three-point shooting while Jaz Shelley contributed 20 points, six boards and five assists, and Hannah Hank 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Diamond Valley went ever so close to ending Geelong's perfect season and reaching the grand final with Steph Reid putting up another 21 points, seven assists and three rebounds.

Lara McSpadden finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals with Abbey Ellis contributing 13 points on 3/5 three-point shooting, Tayha Watkins 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Erin Riley 11 points and eight boards.

GEELONG UNITED 80 (Rotunno 22, Potter 21, Shelley 20)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 72 (Reid 21, McSpadden 15, Ellis 13)

MEN

Knox Raiders (86) lost to Melbourne Tigers (89)

The Melbourne Tigers are the comeback kings of 2025 and it's only fitting they booked their place in the grand final coming from 10 points down in the fourth quarter with Tom Wilson ending up with 42 points as they stormed home to beat the Knox Raiders 89-86.

Knox had been the standout team in the NBL1 South for a lot of the season winning 12 of the first 13 games on the way to end up a game clear in top spot at 17-5.

From there, the Raiders beat the defending champion Eltham Wildcats to earn the week off and to earn the hosting rights of a preliminary final while the Tigers had to keep doing things the hard way.

After finishing the regular season in sixth place, Melbourne went on to beat the Ballarat Miners in the elimination final before pulling off a miracle fightback on the road to the Kilsyth Cobras last Saturday night to win 84-83.

That saw them bring momentum into the preliminary final even while losing coach Andrew Gaze who is currently in Saudi Arabia for the FIBA Asia Cup.

Even though Knox earned the right to host the contest, it was on neutral ground at Dandenong Basketball Stadium with the State Basketball Centre at Boronia unavailable while being redeveloped.

Knox did open up a six-point lead in the first quarter and were still leading 27-25 by quarter-time and then the Raiders pushed that out to a nine-point advantage in the second frame, and were still leading 55-47 by half-time.

Knox led by as much as 11 in the third quarter and were still eight points up at three quarter-time, and then it was still a 10-point lead for the Raiders early in the fourth when Brody Nunn knocked down three free throws including a technical with the frustrations of the Tigers spilling over.

They then directed that energy into another stunning fightback and Tom Wilson continued his miraculous shooting night with a couple more quick threes to bring it back to a four-point game.

Harry Froling took a heavy knock to his nose but was able to return once the bleeding stopped and his free throws put Melbourne back in front for the first time in the second half.

Michael Wearne hit a triple soon after to keep them in front but a couple of free throws from Tad Dufelmeier with a minute to play had Knox back level.

Ultimately it was Wilson finding Jack Purchase to knock down a three ball just days after being announced as joining the Brisbane Bullets in NBL26.

That prove to be the last score of the game with Melbourne outscoring Knox 19 points to six in the last eight minutes to score the stunning three-point win and celebrate reaching the grand final with their passionate fans storming the floor and pouring MVP chances on Tom Wilson.

Wilson produced 42 points, six assists and four rebounds with 8/11 three-point shooting as the Tigers won without coach Andrew Gaze and with Nick Abdicevic to take on the role.

Michael Wearne also had 18 points, four rebounds and two blocks, Harry Froling 15 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals, and Jack Purchase 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

It's a tough way for Knox to miss out on the grand final with the Raiders also playing the game without captain and Perth Wildcats NBL guard Sunday Dech.

Tad Dufelmeier did top-score with 22 points to go with nine rebounds and five steals with Norvel Pelle adding 20 points and 10 boards but when he fouled out things did turn the way of the Tigers.

Sydney Kings NBL powerhouse Keli Leaulepe added 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds with Brody Nunn contributing 11 points and four boards, and Brayon Blake eight points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

KNOX RAIDERS 86 (Dufelmeier 22, Pelle 20, Leaulepe 18)

MELBOURNE TIGERS 89 (Wilson 42, Wearne 18, Froling 15)

Mount Gambier Pioneers (87) lost to Sandringham Sabres (95)

The Sandringham Sabres were able to take their hot form on the road to them with Ben Ayre putting up 38 points as they beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers 95-87 to advance to the grand final for 2025.

The Pioneers had finished the regular season in second position with a 16-6 record and a six-game winning streak before opening the finals with a thumping 36-point win at home against the Kilsyth Cobras.

That earned Mount Gambier the week off while Sandringham had finished the regular season in fifth place at 14-8 before beating the Hobart Chargers and Eltham Wildcats on the way to the preliminary final match up at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre.

With Mount Gambier on a seven-game winning streak and Sandringham having won 16 of their last 18 games after a 0-6 start to 2025, the two in-form teams were always going to put on a show with a grand final spot on the line.

Mount Gambier started strongly at home to lead 28-20 by quarter-time having knocked down 7/11 from three-point territory to the 1/6 from Sandringham.

The Sabres turned things around in the second frame with 28 points to 16 thanks to shooting 5/8 from three-point land to 1/5 from the Pioneers in complete contrast to the first 10 minutes.

That saw Sandringham leading 48-44 by half-time and the Sabres kept that momentum going into the third quarter with another 30 points to 16 on the back of shooting 10/20 from the field opposed to 6/17.

The Sabres went on a 14-0 scoring run and ended up leading by as much as 23 points with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but with their season on the line, the Pioneers did their best to mount a fightback including scoring 11 straight points.

Titus Robinson hit three triples, Alex Mudronja two and Kane de Wit another in the last five minutes, but the closest the Pioneers could get by the final buzzer was eight points.

Sandringham ended up scoring the eight-point win to keep their stunning momentum going all the way into the grand final having now won 17 of 19 since losing the first six of 2025.

New Tasmania JackJumpers NBL guard Ben Ayre is playing some of the best basketball of his life with the Sabres and delivered 38 points, five rebounds and five assists with 11/18 shooting from the floor, 4/8 from downtown and 12/13 at the foul line.

Fabijan Krslovic also had 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, Malith Machar 15 points on 6/11 shooting, playing-coach Dave Barlow nine points and four rebounds, and Dane Pineau four points and eight boards.

It's a tough way for Mount Gambier's season to end on their home floor after also suffering a straight sets exit in 2024.

Titus Robinson ended up top-scoring with 24 points on 6/8 three-point shooting with Alex Mudronja adding 19 points and five boards on 3/5 shooting from downtown.

Akech Aliir also had 13 points, six rebounds and two steals, Joe Palmer seven points and seven boards, and Jack Haggett seven points on 3/3 shooting from the field.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 87 (Robinson 24, Mudronja 19. Aliir 13)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 95 (Ayre 38, Krslovic 17, Machar 15)