The Illawarra Hawks have been crowned NBL champions after their fairytale season culminated in a 114-104 defeat of Melbourne United in the decisive fifth game of the championship series.
Will Hickey (21 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) and Trey Kell (26 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) starred in Wollongong as the Hawks, wooden spooners two seasons ago, completed a remarkable rags-to-riches turnaround.
The championship is only the second in 47 years for the NBL’s last remaining foundation club, and first since 2001.
Sunday’s result sealed United’s second consecutive 3-2 championship series loss after the perennial heavyweights fell to Tasmania in game five last year.
United came out of the blocks faster in this decider, hitting four of their first six attempts from deep and building a 10-point lead in the first quarter.
Hickey was inspirational for the Hawks with 12 first-quarter points after starting in place of Kell, who shone once he returned from the knee injury that rubbed him out of game four.
Illawarra would’ve held their breath when Kell hobbled after falling when Marcus Lee fouled him in the first quarter, but the American import played on.
Kell tied the game at 26 with a jump shot on the Hawks’ last possession of the first quarter before helping his side to a 12-2 run in the second that put them ahead.
Veteran Todd Blanchfield (eight points, three rebounds) beat the buzzer with his second three of the quarter to restore a 10-point lead for Illawarra at the half, and the home side never trailed again.
With a total of 441 games under his belt, 33-year-old Blanchfield had previously been the most-capped active NBL player without a championship win.
In the absence of injured centre Sam Froling, NBA prospect Lachlan Olbrich (12 points, four rebounds) was excellent as early foul trouble hampered fellow Hawks big man Mason Peatling.
Olbrich threw down a demoralising block on NBA champion Ian Clark (15 points) as United were scrambling for points in the third quarter.
after newsletter promotion
He then put up a hook shot that gave the Hawks what was then a game-high 13-point lead.
Fighting to reassert themselves in the contest, United went more than five minutes in the third quarter without a field goal.
They missed seven consecutive attempts in that time, with star guard Matthew Dellavedova (five points, seven assists) also uncharacteristically butchering both free-throw attempts.
It didn’t help United’s cause that Lee and Clark spent time on the sidelines with apparent arm injuries in the third quarter.
Chris Goulding (21 points, three assists) finished as United’s top-scorer, with Shea Ili adding 20 on return from a concussion lay-off.
But when Kell raced down court for a lay-up that made it a 13-point game with 70 seconds remaining, the Hawks officially looked home.
They also became the first team to win at home in this series.
This was also the third consecutive championship series in which the loser of game one took the title in game five.
