In the most incredible of endings to the Central ABL Men’s Grand Final, the Norwood Flames have snatched a 1 point victory over the Forestville Eagles on a 30 foot shot.

The Flames were down by 2 with 4 seconds remaining when David Cooper rebounded in the backcourt, but it was Grand Final MVP Andrew Webber whose long bomb on the buzzer triggered pandemonium from the Norwood fans, and heartbreak for the Eagles.

Webber set the pace in the first quarter, with two early 3s, a 15 footer and 2 assists. Swingman Sam Grantham also got the Flames off to a flyer, hitting all of his first four baskets. Forestville’s Matt Sutton was also 4 from 4 in the quarter, but the Eagles were unable to slow Norwood’s scoring and down 10 points, coach Andy Simons was forced to call a timeout.

The Eagles rallied in the second, with captain Doug MacDonald Taylor hitting two three pointers and Brad Sullivan hitting his first of three for the game. With Peter Hoban on the bench with 3 fouls and David Cooper and Kane Oakley cancelling each other out, Forestville managed to reduce the lead to 6 at half time.

As he did in the last game between these teams, Todd Matthews sparked a charge in the third quarter, hitting two 3s. Dan Thompson started to exert his authority inside, hitting three baskets inside the key, and Norwood extended the lead to 9 at ¾ time.

It was inevitable that Forestville would make a run. As he has done many times before, Brad Sullivan came up big in a big game, hitting twice from beyond the arc to spark the Forestville charge. Thompson made another two baskets inside, but Forestville had all the momentum and when they hit the lead with 4:09 to play, it looked all but over. Norwood stayed in touch however, and were just close enough to set up a Grand Final highlight that’s unlikely to be repeated.

Webber finished with 20 points, while Dan Thompson’s 17 came at 78%. For Forestville, Matt Sutton was solid with 18 points and Kane Oakley finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Both teams will be preparing for National ABA quarter final action next Saturday but are likely to have other things on their mind for at least the next 24 hours.