Wildcats and Blues ready for battle

The Eltham Wildcats will chase a second championship in three years when they meet the Grand Final-bound Frankston Blues at the State Basketball Centre.

The 2026 NBL1 South Men’s season will come down to the Eltham Wildcats and Frankston Blues in Saturday night’s Grand Final at the State Basketball Centre.

Eltham will return to the championship game two years after winning the 2024 title, while Frankston will make its first NBL1 South Grand Final appearance after finally breaking through following several deep Finals campaigns.

The Wildcats entered the Finals as the second seed following a 17-5 regular season and secured a direct passage to the preliminary final with victory over the Dandenong Rangers.

Frankston’s journey has been considerably more dramatic.

After finishing fifth, the Blues survived an elimination final thriller against the Sandringham Sabres, with young guard Kynan Philippe hitting the game-winning shot, before overcoming regular season champions Melbourne 82-79.

They will now attempt to claim their first senior men’s championship since winning the SEABL South Conference title in 2009.

Frankston showed its depth and resilience against Melbourne, recovering from a 12-point second-half deficit and overcoming the loss of Jeremy Combs and Tom Garrett to fouls.

Dibaji Walker led the Blues with 19 points and six rebounds, while Austin Shelley delivered 18 points and Jack Stanwix made three clutch free throws to close out the victory.

The Blues’ production throughout the season, including the Finals, has been led by Combs with 20.27 points, 8.00 rebounds, 1.73 steals and 0.91 blocks per game.

Shelley is averaging 16.63 points and a team-high 4.04 assists, while Walker has contributed 16.46 points and 5.25 rebounds per game. His versatility has again proved vital throughout Frankston’s Finals run.

Stanwix rounds out a balanced group with 11.52 points, 2.90 assists and 1.24 steals per game.

The Blues have also received important Finals contributions from members of their junior pathway. Frankston junior Tom Garrett scored nine points against Melbourne before fouling out, while Kynan Philippe added eight points after hitting the game-winner against Sandringham one week earlier.

Eltham was pushed all the way in its preliminary final before surviving Nunawading 91-89 in an overtime classic.

The Wildcats led by as many as 15 points before the Spectres forced overtime, but Mitch McCarron produced a decisive late steal and score as Eltham held firm in the final moments.

Zak Cunningham delivered one of the performances of the Finals with 28 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while TJ Weeks added 21 points on 9/16 shooting.

Those performances reflected the production both have delivered throughout the season and Finals.

Weeks leads Eltham with 18.10 points per game, while Cunningham is averaging 16.67 points, a team-high 8.71 rebounds and 1.04 blocks.

Harrison Hornery has provided another consistent scoring threat with 15.21 points per game and a team-best 2.33 three-pointers, while McCarron has directed the offence with 12.17 points, 6.00 rebounds and 5.83 assists per game.

McCarron also leads the Wildcats with 1.42 steals, with his ability to influence the game at both ends again evident in the decisive moments against Nunawading.

Sam Short produced an important all-round performance in the preliminary final with eight points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals, adding another experienced playmaker to Eltham’s backcourt.

The Wildcats will enter the Grand Final without import Leonardo Colimério after he suffered an ACL injury. Colimério had averaged 12.78 points, 5.30 rebounds and 0.91 steals across the season and Finals.

His absence places an even greater responsibility on Cunningham and Weeks for scoring and athleticism, while McCarron and Short will be central to Eltham’s efforts to control the game at both ends.

For Frankston, slowing that perimeter combination while keeping Cunningham away from the glass will be crucial. At the other end, Eltham must contend with the interior presence of Combs and the attacking threats of Walker and Shelley.

The battle on the glass will be one of the key factors, with Cunningham leading Eltham at 8.71 rebounds per game and Combs averaging 8.00 for Frankston.

The playmaking contest will also be pivotal, with McCarron averaging 5.83 assists for the Wildcats and Shelley leading the Blues at 4.04.

Both teams have already shown they can perform under enormous pressure.

Frankston has won consecutive elimination games by a combined four points, while Eltham survived five extra minutes and a final Nunawading attempt to book its place in the Grand Final.

For the Wildcats, victory would deliver a second NBL1 South championship in three seasons.

For the Blues, it would complete a long-awaited breakthrough after reaching the semi finals in 2022 and 2023, the preliminary final in 2024 and now the Grand Final in 2026.

After two gripping preliminary finals, the stage is set for one final battle to decide the NBL1 South Men’s champion.