THE Cockburn Cougars and Joondalup Wolves have been the top two teams all season in the Men's SBL and it's only fitting they now do battle in Saturday's night's 2016 Grand Final at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars and Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves were locked in a battle over top spot all season long that wasn’t decided until the final regular season game at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Cougars won that on their home floor in an outstanding yet tense and physical affair that saw them claim the minor premiership but left both teams coming away just hoping they get a chance to do it all again in the Grand Final.

Now that chance is here on Saturday night at Bendat Basketball Centre in the Men's SBL Grand Final for 2016.

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The Cougars won an SBL championship in 2012 but it was very much a rebuild that coach Matt Parsons had to undertake coming into 2015. He did that tremendously to take his team to fourth spot before a quarter-final exit.

He had Najee Lane, welcomed back Sheldon McIntyre and was developing the likes of Julian Pesava but he still saw some improvement was needed and the return of veterans Rhett Della and Dan Thomas along with Jaarod Holmes and signing of centre Marcus Goode have proven tremendous.

Even with captain Gavin Field now sidelined with an elbow injury, the Cougars have great depth to call upon and that's a large reason why they were able to finish in top spot and then beat the Perry Lakes Hawks in three games, and Geraldton Buccaneers in two.

Meanwhile, the Wolves won the 2016 championship and have welcomed back Reece Maxwell and Rhys Smyth. While they also hoped to add Bobby Evans and Greg Hire, that hasn’t worked out.

But the Wolfpack still finished second after the regular season and then beat the Perth Redbacks in two games and the Willetton Tigers in three on the way to the Grand Final.

With Kevin Davis, Rob Huntington and Damian Matacz doing well as a three-man combo of bigs, Joel Questel and Maxwell running the point strongly, and Seb Salinas and Trian Iliadis continuing to shoot, the Wolves have been strong.

There are going to be fascinating match ups all over the floor but none more so than the battle of big men Goode and Davis. The pair could very well be the best two players in the SBL but they couldn’t be more different as big men.

Goode has a remarkable array of offensive arsenal while Davis is a monster on the glass and around the rim and it will be a battle for the ages.

But there's also the battle of point guards Joel Questel and Dan Thomas, Wolves captain Seb Salinas and Cougars import Najee Lane, veterans Rhett Della and Rob Huntington, and it goes on and on which is why it's a Grand Final well worth being excited ahead of.

The Wolves are gunning for back-to-back championships for the first time having previously won titles in 1993, 2011 and 2014.

This is also the first year that the Wolfpack have made a Grand Final the season after winning a championship and this is their fifth Grand Final overall in the Men's SBL but significantly fourth in the past six years.

The Cougars have won two SBL championships previously in 1992 and 2012 and Saturday night will be a sixth Grand Final appearance for Cockburn and the first since the triumph in 2012.

The two teams met twice during the regular season with the Wolves winning at Joondalup Basketball Stadium by 13 points in Week 6 and then the Cougars won at Wally Hagan Stadium in the last round by three, 123-120.

Cougars coach Matt Parsons has no doubt of the challenge ahead of his team even if they were the minor premiers against the defending champions, but he has no doubt his Cockburn group is ready for the occasion.

"They're an amazing club and are the reigning champions. We have all the respect in the world for what they've done but when you cross those lines there are no friends and you've got to have white line fever and leave everything you've got out there," Parsons said.

"If that means losing a bit of skin or having a heated exchange, then that happens. They are a really good basketball team and this is their fourth Grand Final in six years.

"They know how to get there and what to do, but it was only three years ago we were in a Grand Final and won one, so we are ready for it as well."

Wolves coach Ben Ettridge played with the Cougars and has a lot of time for their association, but he wants to beat them as much as anybody else on Saturday ahead of his coaching the Australian Rollers at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

"Cockburn is another club full of Cockburn is kids and they are an association who works hard and play the right way, and do things the right way and are well coached. We don’t expect anything but their best," Ettridge said.

"We beat each other during the year on our home floor so it's almost a promoter's dream with the two heavyweights going at it for 15 rounds. I just hope there's no double overtime but it's going to be a great game."

While Ettridge has no doubt both clubs and playing groups respect one another, it doesn’t mean they like one another and he hasn’t forgotten leaving Cockburn with a sour taste in his mouth in that final game of the regular season.

"They let me know pretty clearly at the end of the game down there that they don’t think much of me, despite my thoughts on them as a club and organisation," Ettridge said.

"But once you cross that line all feelings are left behind and you just play the game, and compete as hard as you can. They will come out and give us their best shot, and we'll be doing the same."

MEN'S SBL GRAND FINAL
Bendat Basketball Centre - Saturday September 3, 7.30pm

Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves