Wanneroo Wolves have finally broken their 18-year title drought after coming from behind to defeat Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks in a thrilling Grand Final.

The Wolves trailed late in the game but came back to win 88-83 to earn just their second championship and extend Perry Lakes' own drought to seven years.

And it was the stellar form of Wolves captain Greg Hire which was crucial in getting Wanneroo over the line. The recent Perth Wildcats signing dominated the second half to finish with 31 points and 28 rebounds, which saw him named the Grand Final Most Valuable Player.

Hire's heroics in the final quarter, where he had eight points, nine rebounds and was fouled three times, saw Wanneroo get over the line in front of the first ever sell-out crowd at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Wolves captain was well supported by Damian Matacz and Matthew Schmechtig (15 points each), while Wildcats star Brad Robbins played a crucial role on both ends of the court, finishing with eight points, six assists and nine steals.

Anthony Lee was at his unstoppable best for Perry Lakes early in the game but faded in the second half to finish with 27 points, while young forward Ben Purser (18 points) was next best.

The Wolves brought impressive energy from the outset and jumped out to a six-point lead within two minutes and that set the tone for early in the game.

Hire provided a massive problem for the Hawks early in the game as he grabbed six rebounds in the first six minutes of the match and he finished a dominant first quarter with nine points and 10 rebounds to help Wanneroo take a six-point lead.

Robbins sent a scare through the Wolves camp midway through the second when he fell heavily and was slow to get up, but soon recovered to help his side build an eight-point advantage late in the second.

But the Hawks hit back with a bang as they went on a 21-4 run, which continued from late in the second until midway through the third and saw them build a nine-point lead of their own.

With two minutes left in the third, the Wolves had scored just six points in nearly 11 minutes of basketball, but their offense awoke as they scored nine points before the end of the period to go to the final break down by just one.

From there it was Perry Lakes' offense which fell into disarray as it scored just three points in the final six minutes of the quarter and was held scoreless in the final two minutes, which gave Wanneroo the perfect opportunity to ice the game.

Club veteran Tony Pearman delivered. His field goal with three minutes remaining gave the Wolves the lead and his clutch two-pointer with 44 seconds left wrapped up the victory and sent the huge crowd, which heavily favoured Wanneroo, into a frenzy.

Article by Jacob Kagi at the WA Basketball Centre
Photos by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)

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