2018 NBL Finals

2018 NBL Finals
Country	Australia; New Zealand
Dates	3–31 March 2018
Season	2017–18
Teams	4
Champions	Melbourne United (5thth title)
Runners-up	Adelaide 36ers (8th finals appearance)
Semifinalists	Perth Wildcats; New Zealand Breakers;

The 2018 NBL Finals were the championship series of the 2017–18 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 3 March and ended 9 March 2018. The Grand Final series started on 16 March and ended on 31 March 2018. Melbourne United won its fifth NBL championship title.

Format

The 2017–18 National Basketball League Finals will be played in March 2018 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.

Qualification

Qualified teams

Team	Date of qualification	Round of qualification	Finals appearance	Previous appearance	Previous best performance
Melbourne United	2 February 2018	17	23rd	2016	Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008)
Adelaide 36ers	4 February 2018	17	25th	2017	Champions (1986, 1998, 1999, 2002)
Perth Wildcats	4 February 2018	17	32nd	2017	Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017)
New Zealand Breakers	4 February 2018	17	8th	2016	Champions (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015)

Ladder

Pos	2017–18 NBL season
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	PF	PA	PP
1	Melbourne United	28	20	8	71.43%	4–1	L1	11–3	9–5	2434	2298	105.92%
2	Adelaide 36ers	28	18	10	64.29%	3–2	W3	10–4	8–6	2654	2527	105.03%
3	Perth Wildcats	28	16	12	57.14%	2–3	W1	9–5	7–7	2388	2271	105.15%
4	New Zealand Breakers	28	15	13	53.57%	1–4	L4	9–5	6–8	2364	2387	99.04%

5	Illawarra Hawks	28	12	16	42.86%	2–3	W2	7–7	5–9	2474	2539	97.44%
6	Cairns Taipans¹	28	11	17	39.29%	1–4	L1	8–6	3–11	2215	2281	97.11%
7	Sydney Kings¹	28	11	17	39.29%	4–1	W4	6–8	5–9	2418	2504	96.57%
8	Brisbane Bullets	28	9	19	32.14%	1–4	L3	6–8	3–11	2347	2487	94.37%

Updated to match(es) played on 18 February 2018. Source: NBL.com.au

Ladder Progression

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

2017–18 NBL season
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Adelaide 36ers	4	4	3	3	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	2	3	2	2
Brisbane Bullets	7	7	6	6	7	6	7	7	6	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8
Cairns Taipans	1	3	4	4	6	7	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	6	5	6	6	5	6
Illawarra Hawks	5	8	7	8	5	5	6	6	7	7	7	5	5	5	6	5	5	6	5
Melbourne United	3	2	5	5	3	3	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
New Zealand Breakers	8	5	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	3	3	3	3	4	2	4	4
Perth Wildcats	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	2	4	3	4	3	3
Sydney Kings	6	6	8	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7

Seedings

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 overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.

Playoff bracket

Semifinals					Grand Final

1	Melbourne United	88	88	X

4	New Zealand Breakers	77	86	X
					1	Melbourne United	107	95	101	81	100

					2	Adelaide 36ers	96	110	98	90	82
2	Adelaide 36ers	109	89	X

3	Perth Wildcats	74	88	X

Semi-finals series

(1) Melbourne United vs (4) New Zealand Breakers

3 March 2018	Melbourne United	88–77 (Series: Melbourne leads series, 1–0)	New Zealand Breakers	Melbourne Arena, Melbourne
5:30pm EDT	Scoring by quarter: 21-24, 22-19, 24-18, 21-16
Fox Sports	Pts: Casper Ware 33 Rebs: Josh Boone 8 Asts: Tai Wesley 4	boxscore report	Pts: D. J. Newbill 19 Rebs: Alex Pledger 10 Asts: Shea Ili 5	Attendance: 6,833 Referees: Michael Aylen, Matt Townsend, Jon Chapman

5 March 2018	New Zealand Breakers	86–880(OT) (Series: Melbourne wins series, 2–0)	Melbourne United	Spark Arena, Auckland
7:30pm NZDT	Scoring by quarter: 26-13, 12-20, 25-25, 15-20, Overtime: 8-10
Fox Sports	Pts: D. J. Newbill 21 Rebs: Rakeem Christmas 8 Asts: Thomas Abercrombie 5	boxscore report	Pts: Josh Boone 33 Rebs: Josh Boone 15 Asts: Chris Goulding 6	Attendance: TBA Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Damien Lyons

Regular season series

Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 351-346 points differential to New Zealand:

22 October 2017	Melbourne United	76–88	New Zealand Breakers	Melbourne Arena, Melbourne

18 January 2018	New Zealand Breakers	98–81	Melbourne United	North Shore Events Centre, Auckland

9 February 2018	Melbourne United	89–83	New Zealand Breakers	Melbourne Arena, Melbourne

11 February 2018	New Zealand Breakers	82–100	Melbourne United	Spark Arena, Auckland

(2) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Perth Wildcats

3 March 2018	Adelaide 36ers	109–74 (Series: Adelaide leads series, 1–0)	Perth Wildcats	Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
7:00pm CDT	Scoring by quarter: 19-18, 31-26, 26-18, 33-12
Fox Sports	Pts: Josh Childress 22 Rebs: Mitch Creek 11 Asts: Shannon Shorter 7	boxscore report	Pts: Bryce Cotton 22 Rebs: Brandt, Cooke 6 Asts: Jarrod Kenny 4	Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, James Boyer, Chris Reid

9 March 2018	Perth Wildcats	88–89 (Series: Adelaide wins series, 2–0)	Adelaide 36ers	Perth Arena, Perth
6:30pm WST	Scoring by quarter: 28-15, 21-25, 18-23, 21-26
Fox Sports	Pts: Bryce Cotton 31 Rebs: Angus Brandt 9 Asts: JP Tokoto 5	boxscore report	Pts: Josh Childress 25 Rebs: Josh Childress 10 Asts: Nathan Sobey 5	Attendance: 12,055 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, Michael Aylen

Regular season series

Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 367-360 points differential to Perth:

8 December 2017	Perth Wildcats	88–79	Adelaide 36ers	Perth Arena, Perth

4 January 2018	Adelaide 36ers	97–86	Perth Wildcats	Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide

2 February 2018	Perth Wildcats	111–90	Adelaide 36ers	Perth Arena, Perth

4 February 2018	Adelaide 36ers	94–82	Perth Wildcats	Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide

Grand Final series

(1) Melbourne United vs (2) Adelaide 36ers

16 March 2018	Melbourne United	107–96 (Series: Melbourne leads series 1–0)	Adelaide 36ers	Hisense Arena, Melbourne
7:30pm EDT	Scoring by quarter: 29-28, 24-19, 26-24, 28-25
Fox Sports	Pts: Chris Goulding 26 Rebs: Josh Boone 7 Asts: Wesley, Hooley 5	boxscore report	Pts: Daniel Johnson 18 Rebs: Mitch Creek 9 Asts: Creek, Moore 4	Attendance: 8,699 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, Michael Aylen

18 March 2018	Adelaide 36ers	110–95 (Series: Series tied 1–1)	Melbourne United	Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
2:30pm CDT	Scoring by quarter: 27-19, 30-22, 25-23, 28-31
Fox Sports	Pts: Majok Deng 18 Rebs: Mitch Creek 9 Asts: Nathan Sobey 5	boxscore report	Pts: Casey Prather 20 Rebs: Casey Prather 7 Asts: Tai Wesley 3	Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Matt Townsend

23 March 2018	Melbourne United	101–98 (Series: Melbourne leads series 2–1)	Adelaide 36ers	Hisense Arena, Melbourne
7:30pm EDT	Scoring by quarter: 33-22, 20-31, 28-22, 20-23
Fox Sports	Pts: Casper Ware 25 Rebs: Casey Prather 6 Asts: Ware, Hooley 3	boxscore report	Pts: Daniel Johnson 20 Rebs: Creek, Deng 8 Asts: Mitch Creek 5	Attendance: 9,362 Referees: Michael Aylen, Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid

25 March 2018	Adelaide 36ers	90–81 (Series: Series tied 2–2)	Melbourne United	Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
2:30pm CDT	Scoring by quarter: 29-21, 26-10, 16-27, 19-23
Fox Sports	Pts: Daniel Johnson 21 Rebs: Daniel Johnson 9 Asts: Shannon Shorter 3	boxscore report	Pts: Casey Prather 23 Rebs: Casey Prather 7 Asts: Chris Goulding 4	Attendance: 7,500 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Chris Reid

31 March 2018	Melbourne United	100–82 (Series: Melbourne wins series, 3–2)	Adelaide 36ers	Hisense Arena, Melbourne
6:00pm EDT	Scoring by quarter: 34-22, 23-22, 21-25, 22-13
Fox Sports	Pts: Goulding, Ware 23 Rebs: Josh Boone 12 Asts: Tai Wesley 3	boxscore report	Pts: Shannon Shorter 20 Rebs: Mitch Creek 10 Asts: Ramone Moore 7	Attendance: 10,300 Referees: Michael Aylen, Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

SG	43	Chris Goulding	23	4	1
PF	42	Tai Wesley	14	9	3
SF	23	Casey Prather	19	11	1
PG	21	Casper Ware	23	1	2
C	3	Josh Boone	10	12	1
Reserves:
PF	13	David Andersen	0	1	0
SF	20	David Barlow	3	5	0
PG	8	Kyle Adnam	0	0	0
C	22	Majok Majok	0	0	0
C	14	Tohi Smith-Milner	0	0	0
SF	9	Craig Moller	2	1	0
PG	7	Peter Hooley	6	1	2
Head coach:
Dean Vickerman

Melbourne

Adelaide

2017/18 NBL champions
Melbourne United (5th title)

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

C	21	Daniel Johnson	17	8	2
PF	55	Mitch Creek	15	10	1
SG	20	Nathan Sobey	7	9	3
SF	10	Ramone Moore	10	2	7
PG	12	Shannon Shorter	20	4	3
Reserves:
PG	7	Brendan Teys	0	0	0
PG	19	Adam Doyle	0	0	0
PG	8	Nelson Larkins	0	0	0
C	1	Matt Hodgson	2	0	0
PF	13	Majok Deng	1	1	0
SF	22	Anthony Drmic	10	3	0
Head coach:
Joey Wright

References

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