Tigers set to face Lightning in Grand Final (Men's Wrap)
Willetton beat Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers in three games, while Lakeside swept Southside Mitsubishi Perth Redbacks, with the two victors to meet in the title decider on August 21.
Lakeside will be aiming for back-to-back titles and its fourth championship overall, while Willetton is looking to record its first SBL crown after losing in the 2002 and 2008 Grand Finals.
The Tigers came back from a humiliating 30-point loss in Geraldton the previous weekend to take the best-of-three series with convincing wins in both games this week.
Willetton won game two 108-79, led by Alex Prince (32 points) and Cam Tovey (30 points), while Ryan Zamroz top-scored for the Buccaneers with 20.
The second seed never trailed in that game and led by 20 before the end of the first quarter in a dominating effort.
Geraldton put up a better effort in game three but still fell 118-102, with Daniel Johnson top-scoring for Willetton with 30 and Tovey securing a triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
Import guard Zamroz was again Geraldton’s best in the deciding game, finishing with 30 points.
The Buccaneers cut Willetton’s double-digit lead early in the second quarter to two late in the period, but the Tigers took control with impressive runs to end the second and start to third.
After cruising to victory on the road in game one, Lakeside completed its 2-0 series victory with a 109-101 win over the Redbacks.
The Lightning trailed with five minutes left in the game but took control of the game with a 16-3 run.
Power forward Ben Beran starred for Lakeside with 40 points, while fellow import Luke Payne added 27 and Jarrad Prue had 20 boards.
Veteran guard Ryan Neill top-scored with 25 for Perth, which hasn’t won a title since 1997.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Grant Lauterbach & Mick Cronin
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