SPORTWATCH: THIS AIN'T A CUPCAKE LEAGUE!

So yelled the Sydney Kings' JaeSean Tate(1) on my TV screen after he led his team to an epic comeback win over Melbourne United in Australia's National Basketball League Finals.(2) Indeed, the NBL is very much on the rise on the world hoop stage, with league owner and friend of the Philippines Larry Kestelman ushering a new golden age of Aussie basketball,(3) favorite son Andrew Bogut having a homecoming season, and possible next NBA No. 1 Draft pick(4) LaMelo Ball making his case/sizzle reel playing on Aussie courts.

(1) Imma gonna pretend like y'all recognize every name drop I make in this blogpost

(2) I've learned that for Australian sports (and reality shows), "Finals" doesn't mean the actual end of the competition, just the post-season/playoff/semi-final stage of the season. The ultimate/coronation/championship determining match or series is more grandly referred to as the "Grand Final". I also learned from the LLDD-Baby the schoolyard joke "What's the difference between a Grand Final and a Grand Finale? An 'e' ".

(3) The NBL was apparently on the verge of collapse a couple of years ago until our man Larry bought the league and injected a whole lot more talent, entertainment and "wow" value into it.

(4) I don't see it, but good on him anyway.

So the LLDD-Hyphen-L and I were genuinely excited to get tickets to see Game 1 of the Grand Final series between Sydney and the defending champion Perth Wildcats, especially since the normally big sporting event-averse LLDD-Baby agreed to come along with us. The kid was apparently won over by the hype she had seen on TV and, happily, her live game day experience lived up to be a thrillfest spectacle.(5)

(5) So good job, Larry

The championship match-up was huge.  Sydney was of course the big city glamour team, but had not won a Grand Final since a Shane Heal-led threepeat from 2002-2005, and the Kings were actually cellar-dwellers (and even went bankrupt) over the next dozen years.  Reigning champ Perth, on the other hand, had been in the Grand Final 15 times and champion 10, were led by two-time league MVP Bryce Cotton, and featured...a Plumlee!(6)

(6) Which one, I don't know anymore from all the times "M. Plumlee" has been available on fantasy waiver wires.

 

The game itself was awesome.(7) (*cue Quinito Henson recap voice*) WATCH OUT as the two teams battle through a nip-and-tuck affair in the first half, with Sydney's big man Andrew Bogut dominating down low(8) and Perth's PG Bryce Cotton showing off MVP moves from all over the court.(9) The Kings open up a double-digit advantage in the third quarter but WATCH OUT as the Wildcats come fighting back and grab the lead midway into the final act.

(7) The NBL isn't totally at the NBA "all-threes-and-layups" style of play yet. There's still a strong low-post and mid-range game happening, which shouldn't be surprising if Andrew Bogut is your league's marquee player.

(8) Indeed, every time I looked up Bogut seemed to be beasting Plumlee down low.  Bogut's particularly/surprisingly unstoppable when he lumbers with the ball from the top of the key and then lays down an assortment of old-school post moves.

(9) Pre-game hype made it sound like Cotton's PG matchup against Sydney's Casper Ware would be a series-deciding clash of the titans. Yeah, na. Cotton could get anywhere and any shot he wanted; Ware went 0-11 and five turnovers into the fourth quarter.    

With time fast ticking away, Perth goes up by five with less than a minute remaining but WATCH OUT as the Kings cut it to three and then regain possession and then get fouled and make the first free throw and miss the second but get the offensive rebound and swing the ball to Sydney sharpshooter Shaun Bruce for a wide open look at a three FTW so WATCH OUT...

   

...for that brick

Sydney are forced to foul with just 10.9 seconds left and Perth can seal the game from the line but WATCH OUT as the Wildcats miss both free throws to stay up by just two and Sydney grab the rebound AND THEN HAVE A LOOK AT A THREE AND WATCH THE **** OUT

...for that OTHER ****ing brick!(10)

(10) classic Ware  

Dammit. Still, a thoroughly fun experience for all. By the end, the LLDD-Baby was yelling "THREEEEEEE" and "DEEE-FENSE" and "BOOOOOOOOOOOOO" as lustily as the rest of the frenzied crowd, and was just as distraught at the game result as the most hardcore home fan.  Larry, you may just have a new lifelong fan.  We can't wait to see Sydney's fightback live!(11) (12) (13)

(11) ummm...yeah na.

(12) oh no 

(13) 'Rona shut it down.