Wanneroo Wolves have qualified for the men's State Basketball League final four at the expense of reigning champions Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers after a stunning comeback win in the deciding third game of their quarter-finals series.

The Wolves recovered from an upset five-point loss in game two of the series on Saturday night to overrun the Tigers for a 102-88 victory at Joondalup Basketball Stadium on Sunday and advance to the semi-finals, where they will meet third seed Cockburn.

Willetton led at every change and held an 18-point advantage early in the third quarter, but Wanneroo gradually chipped away and went ahead with six minutes left before taking control of the game.

The Tigers fell apart in the second half, where they were outscored 61-32 as the impressive composure and ball control they'd shown earlier in the game deserted them to bring to an end an injury-plagued and inconsistent season.

"We were just hoping we could be better than they were and run it out and steal one because we were done at half-time," acting Wolves coach Ryan Benson said.

"We were down by 15 at half-time and we were up and thinking we could get it back, but when they came out and hit a three on the first possession, it seemed like nothing was going our way.

"We probably got the lead back a little bit quicker than what we thought, but the boys worked really hard and got us a good win."

Perth Wildcats guard Brad Robbins was inspirational for the Wolves with 25 points and four steals, while Damian Matacz added 20 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.

Rob Kampman top-scored for Willetton with 22 points and fellow forward Mark Jones had 18.

Wanneroo lacked its usual intensity early as big man John Vaudreuil made a nightmare start, picking up three fouls within the first four minutes.

Kampman hit a pair of early three-pointers and Jones and Adam Nener also made one each within the first six minutes, which saw their side jump out to a nine-point lead.

With Vaudreuil off the court for most of the first quarter, Matacz stepped up with 11 points and eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end, in the opening quarter. But it wasn't enough to stop the Tigers taking an eight-point advantage at quarter-time.

Willetton made eight of its first 11 three-point attempts of the game and its outstanding shooting saw its lead reach 17 late in the second period and 15 at half-time after Kampman hit a buzzer-beating three.

A Rob Cassir three-pointer on the opening play of the second half extended the difference to 18, but the hosts responded immediately with a 25-10 run to get back in the game to cut the margin to seven at the final break.

With the support of the vocal home crowd behind them, the Wolves reduced the deficit to two with eight of the first 11 points in the quarter.

Wanneroo had several shots to tie the game or take the lead early in the final period and they finally broke even with six minutes left when Greg Hire completed an and-one play.

On the next possession, a Matthew Schmechtig lay-up gave the Wolves the lead, which they gradually extended before a Seb Salinas three-pointer with two minutes made the difference nine points and wrapped up the series.

After its comeback win, Wanneroo is just two wins away from its first Grand Final appearance since it won the 1993 championship.

Article by Jacob Kagi at Joondalup Basketball Stadium
Photo by Grant Lauterbach

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