How important is the home court advantage in this year’s Central ABL?

Results this season indicate that the venue plays little part in determining the result. In the men’s league, the home team has won 50.6% of the games, and in the women’s league, 56%. Hardly a compelling argument for a team to be fighting for a home final?

Guess again.

If you ask the players, the crowd support and comfort factor of a home final are huge. Crowds increase in each week of the finals, and while Adelaide’s small enough that the crowd will never be totally dominated by supporters of the home team, teams much prefer the familiarity of their home stadium in games with packed houses.

For Forestville’s men, a home semi final is guaranteed .They’ll host a game on Sunday August 3 as part of a smorgasbord of basketball which will include part of the Under 19 Oceania series between Australia and New Zealand.

If North defeat Sturt, the Rockets will be the beneficiaries of a better head-to-head result with Norwood, and host a qualifying final at Hillcrest. If Sturt win, that game will be at Mars.

The Sabres have enough of an incentive to win regardless, as it would mean a likely home final against South, should the Eagles defeat the Panthers. A Panther victory would guarantee that South would host the elimination final at Marion.

In the women’s competition, Norwood’s win over Forestville kept its finals hopes alive, and if beats the 6 point spread against West, it will replicate last year’s effort of storming into the finals after slow starts. If West can win that game, or lose within the spread, they’ll retain 5th spot at Norwood’s expense, and then face Southern at Morphett Vale the following week in an elimination final.

At the top end, the North v Sturt matchup rightly garners “game of the week” status, the winner not only taking the minor premiership but also the right to host a semi-final. The game is even more significant for Sturt, as a loss would probably relegate it to 3rd place behind Forestville, should the Eagles defeat South. North have the spread on Forestville, so if the Rockets lose, they’ll still host the qualifying final as a minimum.

Wherever you are this week, realise that there’s more on the line than just premiership points.