1991 NBL Finals

The 1991 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1991 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Perth Wildcats defeated the Eastside Spectres in three games (2-1) for their second NBL championship.

1991 NBL Finals
League	National Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Duration	25 September - 27 October 1991
Number of teams	6
TV partner(s)	Seven Network
NBL Finals
Champions	Perth Wildcats
Runners-up	Eastside Spectres
Finals MVP	Pete Hansen

Format

The 1991 National Basketball League Finals started on 25 September and concluded on 27 October. The playoffs consisted of two best of three Elimination Finals, two best of three Semifinals and the best of three game Grand Final series. As the two top teams at the end of the regular season, Perth and Eastside both qualified for home court advantage during the Semifinals.

Qualification

Qualified teams

Team	Finals appearance	Previous appearance	Previous best performance
Perth Wildcats	5th	1990	Champions (1990)
Eastside Spectres	7th	1990	Runner up (1981)
Geelong Supercats	4th	1984	Runner up (1982)
Adelaide 36ers	7th	1989	Champions (1986)
North Melbourne Giants	4th	1990	Champions (1989)
Melbourne Tigers	3rd	1990	5th (1989, 1990)

Ladder

This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.

Pos	1991 NBL season v t e
	Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	PF	PA	PP
1	Perth Wildcats	26	22	4	84.62%	5–0	W8	12–1	10–3	2750	2508	109.65%
2	Eastside Spectres1	26	17	9	65.38%	5–0	W5	10–3	7–6	2932	2792	105.01%
3	Geelong Supercats1	26	17	9	65.38%	3–2	W2	11–2	6–7	3143	2980	105.47%
4	Adelaide 36ers2	26	16	10	61.54%	4–1	L1	11–2	5–8	3028	2876	105.29%
5	Melbourne Tigers2	26	16	10	61.54%	3–2	L2	10–3	6–7	3104	3044	101.97%
6	North Melbourne Giants2	26	16	10	61.54%	3–2	W1	8–5	8–5	3047	2840	107.29%
7	Sydney Kings3	26	14	12	53.85%	4–1	W4	9–4	5–8	2821	2775	101.66%
8	Gold Coast Cougars3	26	14	12	53.85%	0–5	L6	8–5	6–7	2781	2805	99.14%
9	Brisbane Bullets	26	13	13	50.00%	2–3	W1	8–5	5–8	2912	2968	98.11%
10	Canberra Cannons4	26	9	17	34.62%	1–4	L1	7–6	2–11	2741	2781	98.56%
11	Southern Melbourne Saints4	26	9	17	34.62%	1–4	L2	6–7	3–10	2872	3094	92.82%
12	Hobart Tassie Devils	26	8	18	30.77%	1–4	L2	6–7	2–11	2811	3047	92.25%
13	Illawarra Hawks	26	6	20	23.08%	2–3	L1	4–9	2–11	3032	3196	94.87%
14	Newcastle Falcons	26	5	21	19.23%	2–3	W1	4–9	1–12	2803	3071	91.27%

Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 1991. Source: NBL.com.au

The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.

¹Head-to-Head between Eastside Spectres and Geelong Supercats (1-1). Eastside Spectres won For and Against(+1).

²3-way Head-to-Head between Adelaide 36ers (3-1), Melbourne Tigers (2-2) and North Melbourne Giants (1-3).

³Head-to-Head between Sydney Kings and Gold Coast Rollers (1-1). Sydney Kings won For and Against (+8).

⁴Head-to-Head between Canberra Cannons and Southern Melbourne Saints (1-1). Canberra Cannons won For and Against (+44).

Playoff bracket

	Elimination Finals							Semifinals							Grand Final
								1	Perth Wildcats	102	105	X
	4	Adelaide 36ers	129	132	X			4	Adelaide 36ers	99	104	X
	5	Melbourne Tigers	115	96	X										1	Perth Wildcats	109	81	90
															2	Eastside Spectres	83	86	80
								2	Eastside Spectres	99	115	X
	3	Geelong Supercats	139	116	113			6	North Melbourne Giants	93	104	X
	6	North Melbourne Giants	119	136	125

Elimination Finals

(4) Adelaide 36ers vs (5) Melbourne Tigers

Game 1

Seven Network

25 September

boxscore

Melbourne Tigers 115, Adelaide 36ers 129
Scoring by quarter: 40-34, 27-23, 28-30, 20-42
Pts: Andrew Gaze 39 Rebs: Gaze, Simmons 8 each Asts: Andrew Gaze 8		Pts: Darryl Pearce 29 Rebs: Mark Davis 14 Asts: Butch Hays 11
Adelaide leads series, 1-0

The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Geoff Weeks

Game 2

Seven Network

27 September

boxscore

Adelaide 36ers 132, Melbourne Tigers 96
Scoring by quarter: 37-27, 32-22, 34-24, 29-23
Pts: Mark Davis 31 Rebs: Mark Davis 15 Asts: Butch Hays 17		Pts: Andrew Gaze 40 Rebs: Dave Simmons 13 Asts: Colbert, Giddey 3 each
Adelaide wins series, 2-0

Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Geoff Weeks

(3) Geelong Supercats vs (6) North Melbourne Giants

Game 1

Seven Network

25 September

boxscore

Geelong Supercats 139, North Melbourne Giants 119
Scoring by quarter: 36-30, 38-31, 31-30, 34-88
Pts: Shane Heal 36 Rebs: Terry Dozier 13 Asts: Shane Heal 11		Pts: Scott Fisher 44 Rebs: Scott Fisher 10 Asts: Marty Clarke 6
Geelong leads series, 1-0

Geelong Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Robert Barnett

Game 2

Seven Network

27 September

boxscore

North Melbourne Giants 136, Geelong Supercats 116
Scoring by quarter: 38-31, 37-25, 31-25, 30-35
Pts: Paul Maley 42 Rebs: Maley, Fisher 13 each Asts: Scott Fisher 6		Pts: Vince Hinchen 27 Rebs: John Dorge 9 Asts: Shane Heal 7
Series tied, 1-1

The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Robert Barnett

Game 3

Seven Network

29 September

boxscore

Geelong Supercats 113, North Melbourne Giants 125
Scoring by quarter: 29-35, 31-28, 30-30, 23-32
Pts: Bobby Locke 31 Rebs: Dorge, Dozier 11 each Asts: Shane Heal 7		Pts: Pat Reidy 32 Rebs: Scott Fisher 14 Asts: Fisher, Leader 6 each
North Melbourne wins series, 2-1

Geelong Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Robert Barnett

Semifinals

(2) Eastside Spectres vs (6) North Melbourne Giants

Game 1

Seven Network

4 October

boxscore

North Melbourne Giants 93, Eastside Spectres 99
Scoring by quarter: 22-25, 18-26, 28-23, 25-25
Pts: Paul Maley 32 Rebs: Paul Maley 12 Asts: Scott Fisher 4		Pts: Bruce Bolden 29 Rebs: Bruce Bolden 13 Asts: Bruce Bolden 5
Eastside leads series, 1-0

The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

Game 2

Seven Network

11 October

boxscore

Eastside Spectres 115, North Melbourne Giants 104
Scoring by quarter: 24-24, 29-21, 34-24, 28-35
Pts: Bruce Bolden 27 Rebs: Bruce Bolden 18 Asts: Perry, Lockhart 7 each		Pts: Paul Maley 25 Rebs: Paul Maley 18 Asts: Mark Leader8
Eastside wins series, 2-0

The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

(1) Perth Wildcats vs (4) Adelaide 36ers

Game 1

Seven Network

5 October

boxscore

Adelaide 36ers 99, Perth Wildcats 102
Scoring by quarter: 28-22, 20-25, 31-34, 20-21
Pts: Mike McKay 23 Rebs: Mark Bradtke 11 Asts: Butch Hays 9		Pts: Ricky Grace 24 Rebs: Pinder, Crawford 10 each Asts: Ricky Grace 8
Perth leads series, 1-0

Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Robert Barnett

Game 2

Seven Network

10 October

boxscore

Perth Wildcats 105, Adelaide 36ers 104
Scoring by quarter: 27-24, 29-25, 28-25, 21-30
Pts: Ricky Grace 27 Rebs: James Crawford 10 Asts: Ricky Grace 9		Pts: Butch Hays 23 Rebs: Bradtke, Davis 9 each Asts: Butch Hays 8
Perth wins series, 2-0

Perth Entertainment Centre Attendance: 8,200 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Robert Barnett

Grand Final series

(1) Perth Wildcats vs (2) Eastside Spectres

Game 1

Seven Network

19 October

boxscore

Eastside Spectres 83, Perth Wildcats 109
Scoring by quarter: 19-34, 22-21, 22-23, 20-31
Pts: Bruce Bolden 22 Rebs: Dean Uthoff 13 Asts: Darren Perry 8		Pts: Ricky Grace 21 Rebs: Andrew Vlahov 11 Asts: Ricky Grace 7
Perth leads series, 1-0

The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

Game 2

Seven Network

25 October

boxscore

Perth Wildcats 81, Eastside Spectres 86
Scoring by quarter: 22-21, 25-22, 15-26, 19-17
Pts: Ricky Grace 17 Rebs: Andrew Vlahov 11 Asts: Ricky Grace 7		Pts: Bruce Bolden 25 Rebs: Kent Lockhart 12 Asts: Perry, Uthoff 4 each
Series tied, 1-1

Perth Entertainment Centre Attendance: 8,200 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Eddie Crouch

Game 3

Seven Network

27 October

boxscore

Perth Wildcats 90, Eastside Spectres 80
Scoring by quarter: 22-27, 25-31, 13-22, 26-29
Pts: Pinder, Crawford 19 each Rebs: James Crawford 14 Asts: Mike Ellis 7		Pts: Bruce Bolden 29 Rebs: Bruce Bolden 15 Asts: Kent Lockhart 4
Perth wins series, 2–1 Grand Final MVP: Pete Hansen (Perth)

Perth Entertainment Centre Attendance: 8,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

See also

• 1991 NBL season