NBL stars shine in NBL1 Grand Finals

All 10 NBL1 Conference champions have officially been crowned after two exciting weekends of Grand Finals.

Most recently, on Sunday, Norths and Bankstown claimed the NBL1 East titles, defeating Sutherland and Manly respectively. 

The Bears, headlined by Melbourne's Grand Final MVP Fabijan Krslovic (8 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks), Illawarra's Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (18 points, 1 dime, 1 board, 1 steal and 1 block) and South East Melbourne's Hunter Goodrick (16 points, 9 boards, 2 dimes and 1 block), edged the Sharks 76-64 at Guzman y Gomez Stadium.

In their defeat, Sydney's Tyler Robertson (29 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist) and Jason Spurgin (12 points, 12 boards, 1 assist and 1 block) did all they could for Sutherland. 

While Australian Opal Shyla Heal powered the Bruins, also featuring former WNBL guard Tahlia Tupaea, to a 90-85 triumph, seeing her win the Grand Final MVP with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

Moving to the South, Frankston and Knox defeated Eltham and Waverley in their deciders. The Blues outlasted the Wildcats 78-75 in the men's Final (which saw Jeremy Combs named MVP), while the Raiders made it back-to-back titles, easily accounting for the Falcons 80-54. 

In the win, Paige Bradley claimed another MVP award, while Townsville's Alicia Froling and Sydney's Agnes Emma-Nnopu had 15 and 11 points respectively.

The other conference to play their deciders this weekend was the West, which saw Rockingham and Warwick named champions. 2026 West MVP Isaac White also took out the Final MVP by producing 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 dimes in the Flames' 66-62 win. 

In the women's Final, Warwick smashed Cockburn 102-76; Townsville's Chloe Forster erupted for 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 dimes to claim MVP.

Other players of note in the fixture for the victors were Geelong's Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard (22 points, 5 boards, 3 dimes and 1 steal) and Adelaide's Kiara Waite (12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block), while Tasmania's Darcee Garbin equalled top-scoring for Cockburn with 18.

The other two conferences, North and Central, played their Grand Finals last weekend. In the North, Gold Coast defeated Ipswich 2-0 in their series, led by New Zealand's Preston Le Gassick, who took out the Grand Final MVP award. Melbourne's Jensen Bradtke and Perth's Jimmy Whitt were also massive for the Rollers in their Grand Final Series. 

In the women's three-game series, Grand Final MVP Cheyenne Bobongie helped Mackay defeat Townsville, averaging 13.6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists per contest. In the loss, Townsville's Courtney Woods and Tasmania's Ella Tofaeono shone for the Flames.

Finally, to the Central, and Forestville and Sturt walked away with the silverware. In the men's Final, former 36er Alex Starling posted a double-double (12 points and 15 rebounds) to win his third MVP award, steering the Eagles to a 77-58 win over South Adelaide (which featured Brisbane's Rio Bruton). 

While Nicola Mathews (12 points and 3 boards) claimed MVP in the Sabres' 76-70 win, which also saw Adelaide's Tayla Brazel top score with 12 points, 6 boards, 5 dimes and 1 steal.

Adelaide's Coco Hodges had 5 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block for West Adelaide in the loss.

Attention now turns to the 2026 NBL1 National Finals in Adelaide, with six men's and six women's teams battling for the title.