1990 NBL Finals
The 1990 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1990 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Perth Wildcats defeated the Brisbane Bullets in three games (2-1) for their first NBL championship.
| 1990 NBL Finals | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 26 September - 28 October 1990 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | Seven Network |
| NBL Finals | |
| Champions | Perth Wildcats |
| Runners-up | Brisbane Bullets |
| Finals MVP | Ricky Grace |
Format
The 1990 National Basketball League Finals started on 26 September and concluded on 28 October. The playoffs consisted of two best of three Elimination finals, two best of three Semi-finals and the best of three game Grand Final series. As the two top teams at the end of the regular season, the North Melbourne Giants and Eastside Spectres both qualified for home court advantage during the Semi-finals.
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Melbourne Giants | 3rd | 1989 | Champions (1989) |
| Eastside Spectres | 6th | 1985 | Runner up (1981) |
| Brisbane Bullets | 8th | 1988 | Champions (1985, 1987) |
| Perth Wildcats | 4th | 1989 | Runner up (1987) |
| Melbourne Tigers | 2nd | 1989 | 5th in 1989 |
| Sydney Kings | 2nd | 1989 | 4th in 1989 |
Ladder
| Pos | 1990 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | North Melbourne Giants | 26 | 20 | 6 | 76.92% | 3–2 | W3 | 10–3 | 10–3 | 3111 | 2889 | 107.68% |
| 2 | Eastside Spectres1 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 69.23% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 3028 | 2858 | 105.95% |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets1 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 69.23% | 3–2 | W1 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 3053 | 2902 | 105.20% |
| 4 | Melbourne Tigers2 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 65.38% | 4–1 | L1 | 11–2 | 6–7 | 3226 | 3018 | 106.89% |
| 5 | Perth Wildcats2 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 65.38% | 3–2 | W2 | 11–2 | 6–7 | 2926 | 2791 | 104.84% |
| 6 | Sydney Kings3 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 61.54% | 3–2 | W2 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 2819 | 2710 | 104.02% |
| 7 | Canberra Cannons3 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 61.54% | 4–1 | L1 | 10–3 | 6–7 | 2918 | 2843 | 102.64% |
| 8 | Illawarra Hawks | 26 | 13 | 13 | 50.00% | 1–4 | L2 | 9–4 | 4–9 | 3056 | 3094 | 98.77% |
| 9 | Adelaide 36ers | 26 | 12 | 14 | 46.15% | 3–2 | L1 | 9–4 | 3–10 | 3042 | 2997 | 101.50% |
| 10 | Geelong Supercats | 26 | 11 | 15 | 42.31% | 3–2 | W1 | 8–5 | 3–10 | 3002 | 2997 | 100.17% |
| 11 | Gold Coast Cougars | 26 | 9 | 17 | 34.62% | 1–4 | L3 | 6–7 | 3–10 | 2880 | 2978 | 96.71% |
| 12 | Hobart Tassie Devils | 26 | 8 | 18 | 30.77% | 1–4 | L1 | 5–8 | 3–10 | 2926 | 3149 | 92.92% |
| 13 | Newcastle Falcons | 26 | 4 | 22 | 15.38% | 3–2 | W1 | 4–9 | 0–13 | 2796 | 3135 | 89.19% |
| 14 | Westside Saints | 26 | 3 | 23 | 11.54% | 0–5 | L7 | 2–11 | 1–12 | 2713 | 3135 | 86.54% |
Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 1990. Source: NBL.com.au
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.
1Head-to-Head between Eastside Spectres and Brisbane Bullets (1-1). Eastside Spectres won For and Against (+7).
2Head-to-Head between Melbourne Tigers and Perth Wildcats (1-1). Melbourne Tigers won For and Against (+11).
3Sydney Kings won Head-to-Head (2-0).
Elimination finals
Game 1
26 September |
| Perth Wildcats 122, Melbourne Tigers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26-24, 29-29, 28-22, 39-25 | ||
| Pts: Ricky Grace 30 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 11 Asts: Ricky Grace 7 |
Pts: Dave Colbert 52 Rebs: Dave Colbert 9 Asts: Nigel Purchase 4 | |
| Perth lead the series 1-0 | ||
Game 2
28 September |
| Melbourne Tigers 113, Perth Wildcats 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-21, 32-32, 28-31, 29-39 | ||
| Pts: Dave Colbert 42 Rebs: Colbert, Simmons 9 each Asts: Nigel Purchase 7 |
Pts: Kendal Pinder 29 Rebs: James Crawford 9 Asts: Mike Ellis 10 | |
| Perth win the series 2-0 | ||
Game 1
26 September |
| Sydney Kings 98, Brisbane Bullets 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25-19, 24-24, 21-26, 28-18 | ||
| Pts: Damian Keogh 26 Rebs: Mark Ridlen 13 Asts: Damian Keogh 5 |
Pts: Andre Moore 28 Rebs: Leroy Loggins 11 Asts: Derek Rucker 6 | |
| Sydney lead the series 1-0 | ||
Game 2
28 September |
| Brisbane Bullets 124, Sydney Kings 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30-30, 28-20, 38-21, 28-25 | ||
| Pts: Derek Rucker 37 Rebs: Loggins, Moore 10 each Asts: Derek Rucker 5 |
Pts: Steve Carfino 30 Rebs: Ridlen, Svaldenis 6 each Asts: Carfino, Robilliard, Dalton 5 each | |
| Series tied at 1-1 | ||
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt |
Game 3
30 September |
| Brisbane Bullets 107, Sydney Kings 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33-25, 28-23, 25-26, 21-30 | ||
| Pts: Derek Rucker 46 Rebs: Andre Moore 9 Asts: Rucker, Fox 6 each |
Pts: Mark Ridlen 35 Rebs: Mark Dalton 9 Asts: Steve Carfino 4 | |
| Brisbane wins the series 2-1 | ||
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt |
Semi-finals
Game 1
6 October |
| Brisbane Bullets 121, Eastside Spectres 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38-30, 23-22, 26-26, 34-33 | ||
| Pts: Andre Moore 36 Rebs: Andre Moore 13 Asts: Greg Fox 9 |
Pts: Darren Perry 22 Rebs: Dean Uthoff 12 Asts: Darren Perry 12 | |
| Brisbane lead the series 1-0 | ||
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Ray Hunt |
Game 2
13 October |
| Eastside Spectres 119, Brisbane Bullets 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26-32, 31-28, 27-35, 29-18 | ||
| Pts: Bruce Bolden 35 Rebs: Dean Uthoff 12 Asts: Bruce Bolden 8 |
Pts: Andre Moore 35 Rebs: Andre Moore 10 Asts: Greg Fox 10 | |
| Brisbane wins the series 2-0 | ||
Game 1
6 October |
| Perth Wildcats 121, North Melbourne Giants 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29-28, 28-30, 35-29, 29-24 | ||
| Pts: Ricky Grace 39 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14 Asts: Mike Ellis 12 |
Pts: Scott Fisher 27 Rebs: Scott Fisher 12 Asts: Joe Hillman 7 | |
| Perth lead the series 1-0 | ||
Game 2
12 October |
| North Melbourne Giants 131, Perth Wildcats 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31-23, 31-37, 35-23, 34-27 | ||
| Pts: Scott Fisher 35 Rebs: Scott Fisher 14 Asts: Joe Hillman 4 |
Pts: Ricky Grace 25 Rebs: James Crawford 15 Asts: Mike Ellis 7 | |
| Series tied at 1-1 | ||
Game 3
14 October |
| North Melbourne Giants 110, Perth Wildcats 112 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20-25, 34-23, 26-30, 20-22, Overtime: 10-12 | ||
| Pts: Scott Fisher 32 Rebs: Scott Fisher 21 Asts: Hillman, Fisher 4 each |
Pts: Kendal Pinder 28 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 13 Asts: Ricky Grace 11 | |
| Perth win the series 2-1 | ||
Grand Final series
The 1990 Grand Final series between the Brisbane Bullets and Perth Wildcats saw a then record aggregate attendance for an NBL Grand Final series with 34,580 attending the 3 games. Game 2 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre attracted a then record Australian indoor sporting attendance (and NBL record crowd) of 13,221.
Game 1
19 October |
| Perth Wildcats 112, Brisbane Bullets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32-20, 20-32, 32-23, 28-31 | ||
| Pts: Ricky Grace 32 Rebs: James Crawford 14 Asts: Mike Ellis 9 |
Pts: Derek Rucker 27 Rebs: Andre Moore 14 Asts: Derek Rucker 10 | |
| Perth leads series 1-0 | ||
Game 2
26 October |
| Brisbane Bullets 106, Perth Wildcats 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28-20, 23-17, 34-27, 21-26 | ||
| Pts: Derek Rucker 27 Rebs: Andre Moore 13 Asts: Derek Rucker 7 |
Pts: James Crawford 22 Rebs: James Crawford 14 Asts: Ricky Grace 7 | |
| Series tied at 1-1 | ||
Game 3
28 October |
| Brisbane Bullets 86, Perth Wildcats 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22-27, 25-31, 13-22, 26-29 | ||
| Pts: Derek Rucker 21 Rebs: Andre Moore 9 Asts: Derek Rucker 5 |
Pts: Ricky Grace 25 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 8 Asts: Grace, Ellis 7 each | |
| Perth wins series and NBL Championship 2–1 Grand Final MVP: Ricky Grace (Perth) | ||