Game 1: ESPN, 9Now
Game 2: ESPN
Game 3: ESPN

International

USA + Canada: Live on Unbeaten (via Amazon Freevee, Prime Video, Fubo TV, Plex, DAZN, STIRR, Vizio Watchfree and Local Now) and on beIN Sport

UK + Europe: Live via ESPN Player and Unbeaten (via DAZN, Samsung TV Plus)

Sub Saharan Africa: Live and On Demand via ESPN Player

Latin America: Live and On Demand via Star+ (ESPN)

Caribbean: Live and On Demand via ESPN Play

All Finals games will also be shown live on FIBA YouTube

A bit odd that it won't be available in North America via ESPN Player but it will be in most other areas. I'll be watching it via FIBA Youtube.

Basket Case podcast: Link

Shooting the Breeze podcast: Link

Locked On WBB podcast: Link

Fire off to a flyer

Townsville showing why they've easily been the best team all season atm.

Heal seems like the missing piece of the puzzle for Townsville, leaving aside the ethics behind her movement to there.

Very underwhelmed by Rocci, but I haven't watched her much - is this normal or just a bad game for her. Poor defender, poor passer, frequent whinger, ... must be very unsettling for her teammates

She's usually better than this. Always a sook though, can't stand her.

Townsville are so impressive as a team - their teamwork, composure, defence, finishing are all impressive. No wonder so many want Seebohm to get a chance guiding the Opals.

He is next. Maybe the asia cup this year and then FT gig in 2025 or 26.

We just have to not lose him in the mean time!

Would do wonders for nz, molloy has not done much...

Shoosh!!

WNBL hasn't posted anything to social media since the 3QT score, prior to which they posted the HT score, prior to which they posted absolutely nothing.

Trademark BA laziness.

It's seriously disgraceful how little effort they make.

If covering multiple platforms is too much for them (which it shouldn't be since I'm pretty sure there are apps that will post your content to multiple platforms at the same time) then they'd be better off not having a twitter account than having one and using it insultingly rarely.
You'd really think they were trying to fail. It's embarrassing.

I think Shyla Heal is in her ideal role as a microwave scorer off the bench.

Given how the regular season series went, the result of Game 1 is not surprising. I think Melbourne would have put up a better fight.

I'm not sure BA gives a toss! What can the basketball public do to remove those responsible?

It's not like their Facebook is any more active than their Twitter.

Not a fan of how Townsville and Melbourne added players so late in the season... sign your team at the start of the season and play with it.

Boomers adding 2 players for 1 injured player, good vote of confidence for the rest of their squad, why would you stay and play there.
Fire sign a player from another team with a 1/3 of season to go.

Yeah, adding Heal to an already top team was quite a luxury, and the whole Heals contract stuff was pretty sus.
But adding Mitchell on the eve of the playoffs via a BS loophole was something I found especially distasteful, so I was glad that Melbourne was the team eliminated in that semi.

It's not like their Facebook is any more active than their Twitter.
Fair enough. I mentioned Twitter only because that's the one I follow with any consistency. The league sucking on other platforms is no surprise.

@Turnover I agree. Poor Goodchild played some solid big minutes throughout the season to end up sitting behind Ortlepp and L Mitchell. I hope she moves on to somewhere that will have the confidence to develop her.

Now that Damian Arsenis has blocked me and I've unfollowed Pick and Roll because both accounts were too busy agreeing with Nazis, I get essentially zero WNBL in my feed. No clue what's going on in the league.

Ortlepp did well for Boomers too as their 2nd replacement player for Madgen. Very rough that Leilani gets to qualify for finals on the back of playing 3 regular season games, but at least she wasn't already in the league this season, playing for a different team.

Heal playing 2/3 of the season with Sydney, then boosting the already dominant Fire seems worse.

As good as Heal was last night (on offence anyway), Fire probably get that win with or without her.

BA are the reason the WNBL can't make headway, its top tier staff are all dinosaurs and it’s rife with nepotism.
They need a huge clean out , starting with Jan Sterling and working their way down , that includes Brondello.

Womens basketball is held back because they cannot and will not let it move forwards
Look at the men’s once they got rid of BA, our NBL crowds are huge because it’s promoted

Last night was the very first time a WNBL final made mainstream news all be it late at night

It’s a disgrace his little support our women get , even when the Opals were winning ( before Joyce and Brondello disasters) they rarely if ever got main headlines

This final series should be everywhere being promoted like they did the men’s, but it’s crickets you hear

It would be improbable that Townsville's winning streak could end with two losses on the trot. So the Coach of the Year should be adding a WNBL Championship title.

Nicholson's form this season has been patchy and that might be a concern. I wonder if she's really over that foot injury?

Respected people have offered to run wnbl socials for free...
Crickets…

Game 2 tonight.
Fire up, Townsville.

Hoping Southside puts up *a bit* more resistance than Game 1. Expecting a comfortable sweep though.

"Winner takes it all" apparently, according to WNBL twitter.
Maybe this is why they usually stay silent.

Yeah, I think WNBL Twitter has been listening to too much ABBA and not paying attention to what's happening in the series.

That's a good late run and win for the fire, flyers ran out of gas.
Look forward to next season. Expansion maybe?

Congrats to Townsville on their 4th WNBL title and for winning 16 games in a row to end the season. Reid was very good in the finals series - maybe she felt like she had a point to prove after being left off the all-WNBL teams. Their depth and coaching was just too good and they are deserved champions.

Southside only showed up intermittently in the championship series. Game 1 was a disaster and they competed for three quarters in this game but then rolled over with about 7 minutes to go. Bec Cole was very good and Puoch had some nice moments but everybody else never really showed up. Strange to see and a very disappointing finish to the season overall.

"Winner takes it all" apparently, according to WNBL twitter.
Maybe this is why they usually stay silent.

Surely Steph Reid was the MVP of the GF Series? She completely & utterly destroyed Rocci making her completely irrelevant in the GF Series as the battle of the PG's. Flyers couldn’t keep her out of the lane offensively & defensively she smothered whoever she guarded on the Flyers.

Now have to select asia cup squad from all that's left.

Reid / Rocci / Mangakahia / Heal
Madgen / Nicholson / Borlase / Swain
Blicavs / Maley / Atwell / Puoch
Garbin / Froling / Bibby
Tolo / Scherf / Aokuso

Very enjoyable game. Much more worthy of a GF than game 1.

Congrats to the Fire. So smart, well drilled and composed. Worthy champions.

Great game, Reid was the difference & deserved the MVP

Not taking anything away from Hawkins, but Reid was robbed of the MVP award. What a player. Good job Fire, definitely deserved to take it out.

I wouldn't say robbed, but I was leaning towards Reid as well.
I'm guessing that game 1 was the difference for whoever cast the votes, but for me that was such a start-to-finish arse-kicking that I didn't take too much out of it when judging the players individually.
Both were absolutely clutch last night.

23/24?

FIRE
Reid - ? - ?
Nicholson - Yaeger
Samuelson or Import - Woods
Hawkins or Import - ?
Ruef - Aokuso

What to do with...
Hay
Fabbro
Leger-Walker
Gaze
Neseya-Williams
Mcspadden

Rumoured to be gone…
Heal to Europe



FLYERS
Rocci - Conti - Loughridge
Import or Cole - ?
Blicavs - Puoch
Thornton or Import - ?
Import or Bishop - Ernst

What to do with…
Rocci
Hollingsworth
Pineau

Rumoured to be gone…
Jackson retirement