Townsville coach Shannon Seebohm has labelled the Southside Flyers probably the most gifted staff within the WNBL as his facet head into the grand last sequence on a club-record 14-game successful streak.
Seebohm’s Fire swept Perth 2-0 of their semi-finals sequence and established dwelling court docket benefit for the finals, beginning Saturday, after coming prime within the regular-season standings.
They could have a big relaxation benefit after the Flyers overcame crosstown rivals Melbourne by one level in an exciting recreation three on Wednesday to progress to their second WNBL finals sequence in three seasons.
The final time Townsville and Southside met within the WNBL finals was a one-off recreation in 2020, the Flyers prevailing 99-82.
Seebohm acknowledged his facet have momentum and relaxation on their facet, however is cautious of a staff with firepower everywhere in the court docket.
“They’re extremely talented – probably the most talented team in the competition,” the Fire coach instructed a packed media scrum on Friday.
“It’s great we’re getting an opportunity to go up against the best and we feel good about our chances.
“The quantity of offensive firepower they have … most likely seven or eight gamers which have scored 25-plus factors in a WNBL recreation earlier than and for those who look throughout their roster, everybody has gained a championship.
“They’ve got that championship experience, which is one thing we don’t have but the great thing for us is we’ve got the hunger to get that so we’re going to come out and play extremely hard in this series.”
Townsville had Southside’s quantity in season 2023, beating them in all three of their contests.
The closest outcome was a 13-point win in December and Flyers coach Cheryl Chambers mentioned their work with out the ball wants to enhance.
“We haven’t defended them particularly well in the past,” she mentioned.
“Games they’ve been challenged in, people have kept them to lower scores.”
For Flyers ahead Sara Blicavs, the grand finals sequence shapes because the cherry on prime after a profitable 12 months.
Blicavs is a two-time WNBL champion (2014, 2020) and gained bronze with Australia on the 2022 FIBA World Cup.
“Winning a championship will add to my little hype circle that I’m in at the moment,” she quipped.
“It would be great but we’ve got our work cut out for us and we’ve got to take it game by game.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
