1986 NBL Finals

The 1986 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1986 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets in three games (2-1) for the first NBL championship.

1986 NBL Finals
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration1–19 October 1986
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)ABC
SAS-10 (Adelaide)
TV0 (Brisbane)
NBL Finals
ChampionsAdelaide 36ers
  Runners-upBrisbane Bullets
Finals MVPMark Davis

Format

The 1986 National Basketball League Finals was played in October 1986 between the top six teams of the regular season, consisting of knockout Quarter and Semi-finals followed by the league's first ever three-game Grand Final series. .

Qualification

Qualified teams

TeamFinals
appearance
Previous
appearance
Previous best
performance
Adelaide 36ers3rd1985Runner-up (1985)
Canberra Cannons5th1985Champions (1983, 1984)
Brisbane Bullets5th1985Champions (1985)
Sydney Supersonics2nd19831983 minor premiers
Illawarra Hawks2nd19848th in 1984
West Sydney Westars1st-First season in NBL

The Ken Cole coached Adelaide 36ers had stormed through the regular season with a 24–2 record, including a 13–0 record on their home court at the Apollo Stadium, to finish 5 games clear of the Canberra Cannons and 7 clear of the defending champion Brisbane Bullets. They were also the only team in the league to score over 3,000 points during the season (3,016) and went into the Finals on a 12-game winning streak. The 36ers only losses for the regular season had come away from home on last second buzzer beaters from the West Sydney Westars and Coburg Giants respectively.

Ladder

This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.

# Team Played Won Loss Win% Last 5 Streak Home Away For Against Points%
1 Adelaide 36ers 26 24 2 92.31% 5-0 Won 12 13-0 11-2 3,016 2,510 120.16%
2 Canberra Cannons 26 19 7 73.11% 4-1 Won 1 11-2 8-5 2,718 2,520 107.86%
3 Brisbane Bullets 26 17 9 65.38% 3-2 Won 1 10-3 7-6 2,650 2,485 106.64%
4 West Sydney Westars1 26 15 11 57.69% 3-2 Won 2 8-5 7-6 2,519 2,492 101.08%
5 Illawarra Hawks1 26 15 11 57.69% 3-2 Won 2 10-3 5-8 2,551 2,472 103.20%
6 Sydney Supersonics2 26 14 12 53.85% 3-2 Won 2 8-5 7-6 2,518 2,438 103.28%
7 Geelong Supercats2 26 14 12 53.85% 2-3 Won 1 8-5 6-7 2,875 2,889 99.52%
8 Coburg Giants2 26 14 12 53.85% 2-3 Won 2 9-4 5-8 2,841 2,825 100.57%
9 Nunawading Spectres 26 12 14 46.15% 4-1 Lost 1 8-5 4-9 2,592 2,642 98.11%
10 Newcastle Falcons 26 10 16 38.46% 1-4 Lost 4 6-7 4-9 2,782 2,878 96.66%
11 Hobart Devils 26 9 17 34.62% 2-3 Lost 1 7-6 2-11 2,606 2,704 96.38%
12 Perth Wildcats 26 8 18 30.77% 0-5 Lost 5 6-7 2-11 2,458 2,693 91.27%
13 Melbourne Tigers 26 6 20 23.08% 1-4 Lost 1 5-8 1-12 2,822 3,089 91.36%
14 St. Kilda Saints 26 5 21 19.23% 1-4 Lost 2 3-10 2-11 2,742 3,053 89.81%

The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.

Quarter-finals

(3) Brisbane Bullets vs (6) Sydney Supersonics

1 October
Brisbane Bullets 100, Sydney Supersonics 82
Scoring by quarter: 20-20, 14-6, 41-23, 22-33
Pts: Leroy Loggins 28
Rebs: Leroy Loggins 10
Asts: Cal Bruton 6
Pts: Kendal Pinder 27
Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14
Asts: Wayne Burden 4
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Steve Bignell

(4) West Sydney Westars vs (5) Illawarra Hawks

1 October
West Sydney Westars 86, Illawarra Hawks 105
Scoring by quarter: 12-31, 24-24, 20-23, 30-27
Pts: Harmison, Kelley 20 each
Rebs: Vince Kelley 21
Asts: Damian Keogh 6
Pts: Borner, Hammond 20 each
Rebs: Don Bickett 11
Asts: Alphonse Hammond 6
State Sports Centre, Sydney
Attendance: 5,006
Referees: Ray Hunt, Bob Barnett

Semi-finals

(2) Canberra Cannons vs (3) Brisbane Bullets

4 October
Canberra Cannons 100, Brisbane Bullets 120
Scoring by quarter: 30-19, 23-29, 27-36, 20-36
Pts: Simon Cottrell 25
Rebs: James Crawford 14
Asts: Phil Smyth 4
Pts: Leroy Loggins 43
Rebs: Leroy Loggins 9
Asts: Ron Radliff 3
AIS Arena, Canberra
Attendance: 5,200
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

(1) Adelaide 36ers vs (5) Illawarra Hawks

4 October
Adelaide 36ers 116, Illawarra Hawks 92
Scoring by quarter: 28-14, 27-24, 36-23, 25-31
Pts: Darryl Pearce 28
Rebs: Mark Davis 14
Asts: Darryl Pearce 7
Pts: Ray Borner 28
Rebs: Ray Borner 14
Asts: McLeod, Kubank 4 each
Apollo Stadium, Adelaide
Attendance: 3,000
Referees: Ray Hunt, Bill Mildenhall

Grand Final series

After the Grand Final had been the traditional single game since the league began in 1979, the NBL introduced a three-game Grand Final series for 1986. They were rewarded when not only did the series go for all three games, but in Game 1 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre a then Australian indoor sports attendance record of 11,000 saw the game go into overtime.

Adelaide 36ers (1)

  • Head coach: Ken Cole
  • Assistant coach: Don Shipway
Pos. Starter Bench Bench Reserves
C Bill Jones (c)
PF Mark DavisDwayne Nelson
SF Peter AliPeter SextonMark Sykes
SG Darryl PearceMike McKayScott Ninnis
PG Al GreenRay WoodDavid Spear

Brisbane Bullets (3)

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Reserves
C John DorgeDave Nelson
PF Robert SibleyChris McGraw
SF Larry Sengstock (c)Danny Morseu
SG Leroy LogginsTom Gerhardt
PG Ron RadliffCal Bruton

Game 1

11 October
7:30 p.m. EST
Brisbane Bullets 119, Adelaide 36ers 122 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 26-24, 15-28, 32-24, 38-35, Overtime: 8-11
Pts: Leroy Loggins 38
Rebs: Larry Sengstock 8
Asts: Ron Radliff 6
Pts: Mark Davis 38
Rebs: Mark Davis 23
Asts: Mark Davis 5
Adelaide leads series, 10
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 11,000
Referees: Ray Hunt, Steve Bignell

Adelaide led early, but a series of silly turnovers saw the Bullets take a 26–24 lead at the end of the first. Leroy Loggins then struck foul trouble in the second and led by their 'Twin Towers' Mark Davis and Bill Jones, Adelaide raced out to a 52–41 half time lead. With Loggins back in the third hitting his first 6 shots, Brisbane outscored the 36ers 32–24 and the lead was cut to just 3 points. The teams went toe to toe in the last but the turning point was Bill Jones stepping in front of Loggins who was called for the charge and was out of the game with 5 fouls. However, the score was locked at 111–111 at the end of time and the game was in overtime. Cooler heads prevailed for the series favourites and after Ray Wood stole an inbound pass that killed the Bullets chances, Adelaide won 122–119. For Adelaide, Davis scored 38 points and pulled in 23 rebounds while Loggins scored 38 for the Bullets.

Game 2

17 October
7:30 p.m. CST
Adelaide 36ers 83, Brisbane Bullets 104
Scoring by quarter: 20-31, 33-23, 18-31, 12-19
Pts: Darryl Pearce 29
Rebs: Bill Jones 17
Asts: Darryl Pearce 6
Pts: Cal Bruton 38
Rebs: Leroy Loggins 11
Asts: Ron Radliff 5
Series tied, 11
Apollo Stadium, Adelaide
Attendance: 3,000
Referees: Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch

Game 2 in Adelaide was expected to see the 36ers, who had gone 14–0 at home to that point of the season, warp up their first NBL title. However, the defending champions, led by 38 points from Cal Bruton, would not go quietly. An early elbow injury to Mark Davis limited his effectiveness in the game and it was left to Darryl Pearce to keep the Adelaide scoreboard ticking over. Pearce scored 29 for Adelaide including hitting six 3-pointers during the second period. However it wasn't enough as Brian Kearle's Bullets stunned the 3,000 in attendance and won the game 104–83 to not only tie the series, but to end Adelaide's 20 game winning streak at home dating back to June 1985.

Game 3

19 October
2:00 p.m. CST
Adelaide 36ers 113, Brisbane Bullets 91
Scoring by quarter: 35-25, 19-27, 26-24, 33-15
Pts: Darryl Pearce 27
Rebs: Mark Davis 25
Asts: Darryl Pearce 2
Pts: Cal Bruton 31
Rebs: Larry Sengstock 14
Asts: Leroy Loggins 5
Adelaide wins series and NBL Championship, 21
Grand Final MVP: Mark Davis (Adelaide)
Apollo Stadium, Adelaide
Attendance: 3,000
Referees: Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch

Game 3 at the Apollo Stadium was a back and forth affair. The 36ers jumped out early and led 35–25 at the end of the first, while Brisbane hit back in the second and, coming from 16 points down to actually lead at one point, and were only down by 2 at the half. The third period saw Leroy Loggins, frustrated by the close, physical defence of Peter Ali, Dwayne Nelson and Mike McKay, foul out for the second time in the series. Despite 31 points from Cal Bruton, 22 from Ron Radliff and 14 rebounds from captain Larry Sengstock, Adelaide, led by Pearce with 27 points, Davis and Al Green with 22 points, and Davis and Jones with 25 and 13 rebounds respectively, had all the answers in the last to run away with the game 113–91 to win their first NBL Championship.

36ers Power forward Mark Davis, who averaged 24.3 points, 19.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over the 3 games was named the Most Valuable Player for the Grand Final series.

See also

References

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