National Finals | Rollers will themselves into decider

Featured image: Dan Cowley | @imagesby_dan

Anthony Petrie has achieved a whole lot in his lifetime in basketball but getting this Gold Coast Rollers team to the NBL1 National Finals Championship Game deserves to be up there after their 98-90 win over the Canberra Gunners.

Now had you seen what the Rollers did on the way to winning the NBL1 North championship and the last thing you'd be is surprised that they are now in the Championship Game against the Forestville Eagles this Sunday in Adelaide.

After all, that was a Gold Coast team averaging 113.8 points a game all season, 121.7 during the playoffs and who could very well have had the rights to being the best team in the country by the end of the NBL1 season.

However, that was with Jensen Bradtke, Jimmy Whitt and Preston Le Gassick in the line-up who between the three of them averaged 68.5 points, 20.1 rebounds and 16.1 assists.

Each of them are now preparing for NBL27 at Melbourne United, Perth Wildcats and New Zealand Breakers respectively, and Petrie arrived in Adelaide alongside with assistant coaches Pero Cameron and Scott McGregor with seven ready and able bodies.

That group of seven included three teenagers and a 35-year-old who played a limited role all season, but still Gold Coast pushed the home town Forestville Eagles all the way on Friday before losing at the buzzer.

As the best of the losers, they still had a shot to reach the Championship Game by taking on the defending champion Gunners on Saturday who ended their NBL1 East season almost a month ago but arrived in Adelaide just about full strength aside from inspirational captain Glenn Morison.

Canberra then kept their national championship defence alive by beating the Rockingham Flames on Friday with the Gunners then facing Gold Coast on Saturday with the winner to play Forestville on Sunday.

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The odds might have been stacked against them, but Gold Coast were playing without no fear and with the spirit that coach Petrie played his entire career with including back in Adelaide where he had captained the 36ers.

Canberra did start well with an early six-point lead, but Gold Coast then took over the contest with 16 straight points and by quarter-time they were leading 30-18.

That lead got out to as much as 16 in the second frame as well and the Rollers were still in control 50-36 by half-time on the back of shooting 14/19 at the foul line to 5/6 from Canberra along with efficiently shooting 16/34 from the floor and 4/9 from deep.

Canberra were struggling with 13/42 shooting overall and 5/21 from the outside while Boston Mazlin already had 17 points for the Rollers, Ashley McGrath 11 and Brodie McGregor eight to go with eight rebounds.

Canberra did mount a fightback to breathe life back into their championship defence in the third quarter with 26 points to 19 with 9/22 shooting from the floor and 4/10 from the outside.

That closed Gold Coast's advantage to 69-62 by half-time and it would have been natural to assume the Rollers might fade, but that's not how Petrie played his career and it wasn’t how his team was going to go out.

Canberra did draw all the way back level early in the fourth quarter after a triple to Will Rice and a layup to Cameron Pender, but the Rollers responded once more starting with a huge triple from Cooper Urquhart.

TJ Diop then made his mark by drawing fouls and with a strong finish before Urquhart threw down a dunk in the last two minutes, McGregor landed a clutch three ball and eventually Matthew McKewin and Mazlin sealed the deal at the foul line.

It was a gutsy win from Gold Coast to set up the Championship Game with Forestville where Petrie will be coaching against a man he called a teammate back in their 36ers days, Daniel Johnson.

Boston Mazlin has taken it upon himself to lead this Gold Coast team on the court and he delivered 29 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals with 3/6 three-point shooting and going 9/13 overall.

Brodie McGregor also had 17 points, 18 boards, four assists and two blocks, Cooper Urquhart 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, Ashley McGrath 13 points and three steals, and TJ Diop eight points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Riley Oberman also had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Matthew McKewin six points, two boards and two assists.

The season is now over for Canberra after they were NBL1 East and National Finals champions a year ago with Will Rice finishing with 15 points and DJ Hoskins Jr 15 points with the pair combining to shoot 7/21 from the outside while as a team the Gunners went 16/51.

Cameron Pender also had 14 points and 17 rebounds, James Toohey 14 points, five boards, four steals and two assists, Will Mayfield 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals, and Evan Wardlow nine points, seven boards and four assists.

NBL1 NATIONALS FINALS 2026 | DAY 2

GOLD COAST ROLLERS 98 (Mazlin 29, McGregor 17, Urquhart 15)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 90 (Rice 15, Hoskins 15, Toohey 14, Pender 14)