Basketball On The Internet.

THE NBL genuinely enjoyed an amazing regular season, its "play-in" tournament a huge success and both semi finals went the distance to produce the Grand Final - oops, "Championship Series" - between Sydney and New Zealand many craved and expected.

Cairns and Tasmania, sabotaged by injuries to major players, showed the depth of their heart and desire by forcing the semis to go all the way, but ultimately fell short.

The only "upset" of the playoffs to date was sixth-placed Perth knocking-out fifth-ranked South East and to a much lesser extent, Tasmania relegating Cairns to face the Wildcats.

But despite lacking some manpower, the Taipans again rose to the occasion, shunting Perth into mothballs to ensure the semi finals would feature all the teams that finished 1-to-4.

And now we have the Best-of-5 Championship between the clubs which finished 1st and 2nd.

They got there by similar means too, the four semi finallists all winning at home, with the higher-ranked teams closing both series out in front of roaring supportive crowds.

Without a dog in the fight, it was interesting, to say the least, to listen to how much the TV commentary favoured Sydney. As a lover of the underdog, it steadily became more and more off-putting. Loved the early flop calls but the refs clearly gave those away as the series progressed.

On some level, Game 3 lacked in similar integrity, likely prompted by the events of Game 2.

Xavier Cooks and Dejan Vasiljevic both should have been assessed unsportsmanlike fouls and the one Bul Kuol copped when Angus Glover tripped and then went for an Ian Thorpe-esque swim on the sideline were an embarrassment to anyone not a Kings supporter.

And, conservatively, that would probably be the rest of Australia, if not the world.

It certainly would include New Zealand, which is endeavouring to become only the second club in league history to jump from last to first in consecutive years since South Dragons achieved it in 2009.

Their series with Tasmania was a gem, played in the right spirit, culminating in the JJs just not having sufficient firepower without Josh Magette to get across the line.

How good is that though - runner-up in their first year, semi finallists in their second? Scott Roth has a blueprint for success, no question.

So too has Adam Forde who had to contend with his key man Tahjere McCall playing with an injured shoulder in Games 2 and 3 against Sydney, while also down import Shannon Scott and team star Keanu Pinder in the decider. To take Sydney to three games under those circumstances was an extraordinary performance.

Chase Buford may not be everyone's cup of tea - or coffee - but having Sydney leading the competition all season and reaching the ultimate goal is a hats-off feat of coaching.

Same can be said for Mody Maor in revitalising and reinvigorating the Breakers program after two COVID-wracked years that may have shut the doors of a lesser club.

Two worthy grand finalists? For sure.

Who will win? Let me flop, er, FLIP a coin.

2023 FINALS

"PLAY IN" 5 v 6

PERTH WILDCATS 106 (Cotton 26, Manek 24, Thomas 13, C Webster 12, Travers 11, Norton 10; Travers 9 rebs; Thomas 8 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 99 (Creek 24, Browne 20, Williams 16, Te Rangi, Kell 14; Williams 17 rebs; Browne 5 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 5,176

"PLAY IN" 3 v 4

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 87 (Doyle 25, White 18, McVeigh 13, Kelly 11; Kelly 12 rebs; Kelly, Doyle 4 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 79 (McCall 24, Scott 17, Hogg 13; Waardenburg 12; Hogg 8 rebs; Hogg 4 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,670

"PLAY IN" 3-4 Loser V 5-6 Winner

CAIRNS TAIPANS 91 (Hogg 32, Kuol 23, Waardenburg 15; Waardenburg 10 rebs; Scott 8 assts) d PERTH WILDCATS 78 (Cotton 19, Thomas, C Webster 14, Manek 13; Manek 10 rebs; Cotton 10 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,020

SEMI FINALS (Best-of-3) 

SYDNEY KINGS (1) v CAIRNS TAIPANS (4)

GAME 1: Kings 95 (Cooks 27, Walton 21, Soares 14, Simon 10; Cooks 14 rebs; Walton 5 assts) d Taipans 87 (Hogg 24, Antonio 20, Scott 13, Waardenburg 11; Waardenburg 7 rebs; Scott 7 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 7,367

GAME 2: Taipans 93 (Hogg 25, McCall 20, Waardenburg 15, Ayre, Mayen 12; Waardenburg 10 rebs; McCall 7 assts) d Kings 82 (Walton 22, Simon 19, Noi 12; Simon 10 rebs; Walton 6 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,626

GAME 3: Kings 79 (Vasiljevic 15, Noi, Cooks 11, Walton 10; Cooks 11 rebs; Walton 9 assts) d Taipans 64 (Ayre 20, Waardenburg 17, McCall, Hogg 9; Waardenburg 12 rebs; Ayre 4 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 7,123

Kings win series 2-1, advance to Championship

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS (2) v TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS (3)

GAME 1: Breakers 88 (Pardon 15, McDowell-White 13, Brown 11, Rupert 10; Pardon 9 rebs; McDowell-White 7 assts) d JackJumpers 68 (Kelly 12, Doyle 10, McVeigh, Krslovic 9; Kenyon 6 rebs; Doyle 4 assts) at Spark Arena. Crowd 5,479

GAME 2: JackJumpers 89 (Doyle 23, McVeigh 16, Kenyon 11; Magnay, Kenyon 6 rebs; Doyle 5 assts) d Breakers 79 (Brown 19, Brantley 17, Pardon 15; Pardon 11 rebs; McDowell-White 4 assts) at Mystate Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,293

GAME 3: Breakers 92 (Brown 32, Pardon 15, Brantley 14, Loe 11, Le'Afa 10; Pardon 14 rebs; McDowell-White 4 assts) d JackJumpers 77 (McVeigh 22, Kelly 16, MacDonald 14, Doyle 12; McVeigh 7 rebs; Krslovic, Doyle 3 assts) at Spark Arena. Crowd: 6,410

Breakers win series 2-1, advance to Championship