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At Trusts Arena, Auckland: Rams 93 (Corey Webster 25, Tevin Brown 23, Troy Baxter Jr 17, Walter Brown 10) Tuatara 82 (Reuben Te Rangi 27, Jarrad Weeks 16, Cam Gliddon 10) 1Q: 22-23, HT: 40-45, 3Q: 61-61.
The Canterbury Rams’ 31-year NBL title drought is over.
Canterbury shot the lights out in the final quarter to upset the top seeded Auckland Tuatara 93-82 in Sunday’s grand final in Auckland.
It was some final quarter from the third seeded Rams, who opened with a 22-10 beginning to the term to snatch control and outscored the Tuatara 32-21.
Canterbury hoops fans will celebrate this for some time with their last NBL title coming in 1992 – before everyone in the squad outside Corey Webster was born.
The Rams were playing in their first NBL final since 1999 and made it count in the pressure stages of the fourth quarter with Webster and American guard Tevin Brown taking over.
This loss will hurt for the Tuatara, who also came up short in last year’s grand final at their North Shore home, losing to the Otago Nuggets.
The Tuatara were the benchmark all season, finishing with a 13-5 record, but couldn’t stop an in-form Rams side, who didn’t skip a beat in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Tevin Brown was terrific for the Rams, shining with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Brown had just four points at halftime, but took over offensively in the second half.
Webster knocked down plenty of important shots, finishing with 25 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
There were no shortage of heroes with impressive young Kiwi Walter Brown excellent at both ends of the court with 10 points and nine rebounds. American forward Troy Baxter Jr added 17 points off the pine. It was the third NBL title for coach Judd Flavell, also doing so with the Auckland Pirates in 2012 and Southland Sharks in 2018.
“This one is special. For a club who’s been a great part of this league for a very long time, it’s been a long time coming for them. If you look at our team a lot of them are babies. Thirty-one years since the last championship – all of them besides Webster weren’t even born yet,” Flavell said.
“Special moment. It’s been a helluva journey for us. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but I think that’s actually prepped us well for this week. We had to do it the hard way.”
Playing their third finals game in four days, and second in consecutive days, there was little sign of exhaustion from the Rams in the decider.
That included a controversial play-in win over the Hawks on Thursday, where all three referees missed a goal tend at the buzzer, which would have eliminated the Rams. They instead went to overtime and prevailed to book their place in the semifinal.
The Rams broke the game open midway through the final quarter with American duo Baxter Jr and Brown draining back-to-back threes.
Canterbury signed Tall Blacks sharpshooter Webster late in the season for the crunch moments and he delivered. Webster, who was outstanding throughout the finals, drained a dagger three to put the Rams up 10 (78-68) with 4.40 to go.
It was anyone’s title approaching the final 10 minutes with the score locked at 61 in an absorbing final, where little separated the sides.
The Tuatara took a five point advantage (45-40) into halftime after an evenly contested first half, where the Aucklander’s largest lead was eight.
Tall Blacks swingman Reuben Te Rangi was an offensive force for the Tuatara, dropping 16 points in the first half alone, including three of four from three point range.
Te Rangi did it all on offence, driving to the hoop for baskets and knocking down triples, causing the Rams problems.
He picked up where he left off in Friday’s semifinal win over the Franklin Bulls, scoring a game-high 28 points in that clash. Te Rangi ended with a game-high 27 points, but cooled off in the second half.
NBL MVP Rob Loe, who was such a menace on the boards all season, had to wait until three minutes before halftime before grabbing his first rebound.
Loe quickly started to rack them up, registering four in as many minutes, showing his quality on the glass.
It was a tough offensive night for Loe, who was restricted to five points, but still made his presence felt with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
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