National Finals | Knox confirm status as nation's best

Featured image: Tia De Santis | @tia.desantis

The Knox Raiders have looked the best team in the country all year and after winning back-to-back NBL1 South championships, they've done the same at NBL1 National Finals but not without an almighty effort from the NBL1 East's Bankstown Bruins.

It was a fighting Championship Game in Adelaide at the State Basketball Centre on Sunday to wrap up the NBL1 season with Knox and Bankstown both arriving at the National Finals at full strength following their championship triumphs last weekend.

Knox made it consecutive NBL1 South championships beating the Waverley Falcons in Melbourne last Saturday night on the back of also winning last year's NBL1 National Finals in Canberra.

Bankstown earned their place at the National Finals for the first time by beating the defending NBL1 East champion Manly Warringha Sea Eagles in last Saturday's Grand Final on the Central Coast with the back court of Shyla Heal and Tahlia Tupaea showing the way.

It turned out to be a terrific contest between two full powered teams desperate to end their seasons on an ultimate high, but in the end the quality of depth that Knox possess came through for the 86-73 victory.

There were plenty of standout performers in the win for the Raiders with Alicia Froling named Championship Game MVP for 24 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists while Shyla Heal was brilliant again for the Bruins playing 40 minutes for 30 points, seven assists and five boards with 11/11 free-throw shooting.

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>> SOUTH GRAND FINAL | RAIDERS EMPHATICALLY GO BACK-TO-BACK

Knox booked their place in the Championship Game by beating the hometown Sturt Sabres and Mackay Meteorettes while Bankstown earned their spot with victories against the Warwick Senators and Waverley Falcons.

It was all set for a tremendous contest and the first quarter set the stage with Bankstown leading 27-26 by the end of it with Shyla Heal already up to 14 points while Leah Santomaggio had seven on perfect shooting for Knox with both teams going 3/5 from beyond the arc.

There was then never more than three points between the two teams in the second frame either and by half-time it was the Raiders narrowly on top 42-41 thanks to Alicia Froling taking over inside with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Heal was up to 17 points for the Bruins while Knox did miss all six three-point attempts in the quarter while Bankstown made 3/7 and it was all set for a tremendous second half.

It was a similar story right throughout the third quarter and even when the Raiders pushed out to a five-point advantage, the Bruins hit back and Heal had 11 points for the quarter to already have 28 by three quarter-time.

Tahlia Tupaea had added 15 with 4/8 shooting from the outside and that helped Bankstown hold the 64-63 advantage by three quarter-time having gone 10/12 from the foul line in the third period.

Bankstown had done such a terrific to job to get to within 10 minutes of a National Championship but the quality and depth of Knox took over in the fourth quarter as they put up 23 points to nine to take charge.

The Raiders shot 8/14 and 4/6 from deep in that final period of 2026 while the Bruins ran out of gas going just 2/17 and 0/9 from the outside.

That saw Knox confirm themselves as the best team in the nation and along with Alicia Froling's MVP performance, NBL1 South Grand Final MVP Paige Bradley produced 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

Leah Santomaggio also had 15 points and six rebounds with 3/6 three-point shooting, Paige Burrows 12 points and four assists with 3/5 from long-range, Haliegh Reinoehl seven points and eight rebounds, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu six points, 12 boards, four blocks and three assists.

It's a season still that everyone at Bankstown should be proud of and on top of what Heal provided in the Championship Game, Tahlia Tupaea had another 15 points, three rebounds and three assists 4/11 shooting from the outside.

French import Margot De Freitas added 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, Shalome Dunlop seven points and four boards, and co-captain Kiahna Davis-White five points, two rebounds and two steals.

NBL1 NATIONALS FINALS 2026 | CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

KNOX RAIDERS 86 (Froling 24, Bradley 20, Santomaggio 15)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 73 (Heal 30, Tupaea 15, De Freitas 13)

Championship Game MVP: Alicia Froling (Knox Raiders)