Basketball On The Internet.

LARRY Davidson made his case for NBL Player of the Week last night as Wollongong saw off Adelaide 76-64 to clinch third place and close the door on the Final Four.

What a terrific regular season finale we've had with this gut-wrenching last round which set up the iiNet Championship's best-of-three semi finals as New Zealand versus Sydney and Perth versus Wollongong.

The post-season tips off on Thursday in Auckland, then swings to Perth later that same evening.

Game 2 of the Perth-Wollongong series will be on Easter Sunday at The Sandpit, the WIN Entertainment Centre, Game 2 of the Breakers-Kings at Sydney Entertainment Centre on April Fool's Day.

Those G2 dates are ominous for the incoming favorites. Seem to recall the Hawks beating the 36ers in a semi series one Easter long ago at The Sandpit when three free throws bobbled around on the rim before going in.

And April 1 in Sydney? That clearly has alarm bells ringing everywhere!

Last night

Hawks v Lightning

YES. Someone at the NBL had Wollongong playing the Lightning, not the 36ers in the Fast Facts release earlier this week. They fixed it up but you had to wonder; was it a Freudian slip? Do they know something at HQ? Was it wishful thinking? Ah, only the perpetrator truly knows...

But back to the game. Wollongong had Larry Davidson leading from the front with 20 points at 75 per cent and 15 rebounds, clearly relishing his Tribunal reprieve. His game was a trip, man.

Adris Deleon bobbed up for 23 points and Dave Gruber was extremely efficient with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Credit the 36ers for hanging around until halftime but a 24-12 third quarter by a Hawks team smelling playoffs made it academic.

Daniel Johnson had a double-double, Anthony Petrie looked good early and Stevie Weigh finished with 22 points, though 13 of those were in the last six minutes when The Sandpit was rocking in finals-anticipation mode and the contest over.

Nathan Crosswell started his 350th and final NBL game exceptionally, making his first two shots - one of the them the now famous "Spanish teardrop" runner so popular in Euroleague - before shutting the book on a stellar career.

SEMI FINALS

IF you've already pencilled in the regular season and defending champion Breakers to sweep Sydney or those wild Wildcats to maul Wollongong 2-0, take a step back.

Unquestionably New Zealand and Perth have been a cut above the rest of the competition this season, as 24-4 and 22-6 records compared to the Hawks' 13-15 and Kings' 12-16 clearly reflects.

But it's the post-season now baby, and those records don't amount to squat.

Everyone starts 0-0 so let's recall a few facts.

New Zealand didn't sweep Sydney during the regular season. It went 3-1, and only one of those was a blow-out, a 95-76 rout at North Shore Events Centre.

The Kings lost a highly-competitive thriller 76-79 in the clubs' first meeting at NSEC, then slapped New Zealand around 75-62 in their one-off game at the State Sports Centre. That's right, it was a right-back-at-ya rout.

And their most recent clash at Sydney Entertainment Centre was another ripper, the Breakers eventually prevailing 96-94.

If you're a Kings' fan today, you're thinking: "We lost to them twice by a basket, they smacked us once, we smacked them once ... we can do this!" And your faith in your team would be justified.

The Breakers have been saying Will Hudson would be back for the playoffs but the league's official Round 24 injury status still listed him as 1-2 weeks. Is he as important to the Breakers as Corin Henry was to the Kings?

Doubtful. Put it this way. When you compare a 24-4 win-loss record to 12-16, you can sit back in your lambswool-covered lazy chair and smoke a stogey saying: "We've got this." But if you are not from New Zealand (and smart Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis assuredly isn't) then you are preparing to go to war.

I'm still thinking Lemanis tonight wins the NBL Coach of the Year award but Shane Heal's job at Sydney has been masterful and he would be one of my two dark horses.

OUT west, The Sensei, Rob Beveridge (or the artist formerly known pre-shave as Captain Redbeard) also has done a great job steering Perth to homecourt advantage for the semi final round.

Believe me, when between 10,500 and 12,381 fans show up to EVERY home game at Perth Arena, homecourt advantage definitely is tangible and means something.

He has had his share of adversity too, with The Buccaneer sailing off in his dinghy, Matt Knight needing to be replaced by Michael Dunigan for an extended stint, and Swedish star Rhys Carter having to be taught English again.

Of course, that doesn't really marry up to the ordeal Season 2012-13 has been for Gordon McLeod at Wollongong, my other CotY dark horse.

Whether it was the string of PSST and early-season injuries to players such as Tim Coenraad, Tyson Demos, Dan Jackson, Larry Davidson, that was nothing compared with what was to come!

Rhys Martin and import Lance Hurdle being lost to season-ending knee injuries was huge. Then Glen Saville - Hawkman himself - going down to a career-ending knee injury was beyond believable.

To lose your starting 1,2,3 would have done in most, if not all clubs.

(Go ahead. Do it. Permanently extract Cedric Jackson, Daryl Corletto and Tom Abercrombie from NZ, or Damian Martin, Kevin Lisch and Cam Tovey/Greg Hire from Perth or Corin Henry, Ben Madgen and James Harvey from Sydney and see whether you think they still "make it".)

So to battle on and eventually cement third place is a testimony to Gordie and the Gang-at-the-Gong. What enormous heart. (Let's keep fingers crossed no-one in Hawkland gets injured today watching the Melbourne-Townsville dead rubber on TV.)

But now here's the rub. Wollongong and Perth are actually 2-2 on the season.

Yeah. Forget that 22-6 record of the Wildcats to the Hawks' 13-15 and look at this.

Wollongong beat Perth 100-67 at The Sandpit, lost 68-80 at Perth Arena (that was closer than the scoreline suggests), won 78-75 back at The Sandpit, and Perth won 80-52 in Perth.

Two blow-outs. Two thrillers.

It may have gone down to the wire for the Final Four to be finally set but, in the end, it certainly appears we have the right quartet. Let the fun and games begin.