Reath excited to be part of East Perth finals return

Seb Reath will be keeping a close eye on Paris 2024 with a brother and teammate in action, but closer to home he can't hide his excitement to be part of the East Perth Eagles' return to NBL1 West finals on Saturday night.

With the Paris Olympic Games getting underway this weekend, Reath has plenty of reasons to tune in including his older brother Duop playing for the Australian Boomers and his East Perth teammate Sunday Dech playing for South Sudan.

He is understandably proud of both and excited to see what they can do on the world's biggest stage, but he has plenty of reasons to be excited himself as he will play a big role in whether or not the Eagles' 2024 season in the NBL1 West extends beyond Saturday night.

East Perth hasn't played in the men's playoffs since winning a championship in 2014 and it will also be the first chance for Reath to be part of post-season action now in his third year playing in the NBL1 West competition.

That means he has a lot of reasons to be excited for Saturday night's elimination final where the Eagles play host to the Rockingham Flames at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

"I'm feeling good and am excited. I feel like this is a good opportunity for us just to kind of see where we're at against one of the top teams, and hopefully we can keep our season going after Saturday night," Reath said.

"It's really exciting especially after starting here last year and watching how much the team and the whole club has grown.

"There's a lot of work that has been put in by a lot of people to get us to this point and I'm hopeful that we can keep pushing further now and try to take what we are doing to another level starting on Saturday night."

While the Eagles were already locked into a playoff sport before hosting the Goldfields Giants last Saturday afternoon to close the regular season, as the game unfolded the opportunity presented to be playing for a home final.

Given East Perth was up against a Goldfields team also needing a win to secure a top four finish, nobody at the Eagles even thought about the margin they needed to win by going into the game and that was still the case with scores all level at half-time.

However, things did turn in favour of the Eagles as the second half unfolded and then midway through the last quarter the focus turned to trying to win by enough of a margin to move into sixth position ahead of the Flames.

To avoid having to go down to Rockingham and instead host an elimination final was a big motivator, and in the end the Eagles won by 31 points to get the job done.

"It was probably in the fourth quarter when coach Carl called a timeout and told us the situation that we were in so we kept our guys on and tried to keep pushing to do our best to get that home final," Reath said.

"It was a really good feeling once we knew we had got that done and to lock that away. We feel like playing at home will give us the best chance to proceed so it was a great feeling to have got that done."

Reath played a big part in that result too last Saturday finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds in the win for the Eagles against the Giants.

That means he is feeling good heading into his first finals game in the league, but ultimately he'd happily sacrifice those numbers if it meant the Eagles are still able to win to extend their season.

"I just want to be able to do whatever I can to help the team win and if that's scoring five points, 30 points or 40 points, it doesn’t matter as long as I've played my part in us getting over the line," he said.

"I wouldn’t complain if I scored 40 and we won a finals game though, of course."

It has already been a memorable year on a number of fronts for East Perth in 2024 and a big part of that has been the return to Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, and to play on the brand new Peter Campbell Basketball Arena.

Now the bonus of winning last Saturday is to get to christen the new venue this season by playing a final there on Saturday night and Reath can't wait.

"It's special that's for sure especially with the history and with the people that's been put in behind the scenes by so many people to get this new stadium going and who it's named after, and everything like that," Reath said.

"It's really special that in our first year playing here we can actually open and debut it with a final in it as well so we're all pretty excited about that."

As the 2024 season has progressed it's an East Perth team that has only kept on getting bigger and bigger.

Reath, Sharif Watson and David Okwera were there from the start, but with the mid-season arrival of Lee Roberts and Lukas Milner, it gives the Eagles five genuine big options who are all pushing up towards being seven-foot tall.

That means that East Perth has gone mighty big with a starting five usually featuring four of those players with captain and point guard Taylor Young rounding out the group.

It allows the Eagles to have a unique look and to be incredibly tough to match up on, and Reath has enjoyed being part of it.

"I feel like it's such a positive from having versatile bigs where everyone can just into a role that can give us the best chance to win and that's what we are trying to do with everyone," he said.

"It's always good to play on a team where you can kinda handle the ball and you're not isolated by yourself to carry the whole load when it comes to rebounds and all the big man jobs inside.

"It also kinda allows me to step outside and play the wing a bit more so it's always good to have length on your team and we have plenty of that, so we think it gives us a bit of an advantage."

Reath is firmly focused on East Perth's finals campaign starting on Saturday night, but he's also looking forward to the Paris Olympics and especially to see his older brother Duop playing for the Boomers and his Eagles teammate Dech representing South Sudan.

"It's very exciting and I can't wait to see them two boys going out and live their dreams at the Olympics. I'll definitely be backing them the whole way and watching their games closely," Reath said.

"I'm obviously extremely proud of my brother. I've seen the work he has put in since he first picked up a basketball all the way to now and it's just been a long time waiting to get this because he deserves everything that is now coming his way with the work he's put in.

"I'm definitely proud of Sunday too. He's one of those guys who has always worked so hard and he didn’t pick up basketball until a bit later in his life, but he has kinda used that as a chip on his shoulder.

"I'm really excited to see him grow as a basketball player and get to this position he's in now, and he will definitely not take it for granted and will turn some heads while he's there."