Basketball the winner in close NBL1 finals series

BY VELMA GARA

The Ipswich Force (Men’s) and Northside Wizards (Women’s) are the NBL1 North Champions.

Third placed, Ipswich Force, defeated the favourites, Gold Coast Rollers – two games to one.

The basketball grand finals were played last weekend in a best of three games series at the home courts for Rollers (Gold Coast) and Wizards (Zillmere, Brisbane).

In the men’s, Rollers won the first game, 100-86, and had to win the following night for the 2023 championship.

However, Ipswich had other ideas and came out fired up and levelled the series to play the third game.

Force won, 119-98, and then last Sunday afternoon, won convincingly again by about 20 points, 109-85.

Rollers centre, Tidjane Diop, played consistently off the bench until he was injured in Game 3. Just before the end of third quarter, whilst guarding Deng Deng, Diop injured his left shoulder.

He didn’t return to play.

Collectively over the three games, Diop had 17 points, 9 rebounds and one block.

Wizards women’s team won their grand final series against Rockhampton Cyclones in two games – (87-52) and (70-59).

The North Champions will be heading to Joondalup, West Australia, to compete in the NBL1 National Championship on 18-20 August 2023.

They will play the winners of NBL1 East, South, Central and West.

Top scorers for the men’s series:

Game 1 – (Rollers)

Todd Blanchfield 27p and 14r. / (Force) Nathan Sobey 22p and 6r.

Game 2 – (Rollers) Todd Blanchfield 40p and 8r / (Force) Nathan Sobey 39p and 6r.

Game 3 – (Rollers) Todd Blanchfield 20p and 15r / (Force) Deng Deng 41p and 13r.

Top Scorers for the women’s series:

Game 1 – (Wizards) AJ Johnson 23p and 8r / (Cyclones) Tia Hays 13p and 3r.

Game 2 – (Wizards) Courtney Woods 23p, 7r and 10assists / (Cyclones) Lara McSpadden 20p and 12r.