It was an action-packed night at the NSC on Thursday evening as the final four teams of the 2025/26 basketball season faced off for their spot in the Championship final.

Wolves faced old rivals Cavaliers in the first match of the evening, with Wolves hoping to avenge their late-season loss to Cavs only a few weeks ago.

There was a frustrating start for Wolves’ pointguard Viktor Capkanovski though, as the normally solid shooter found the NSC rims stubbornly difficult.

It opened good opportunities for other Wolves to step up and saw Cameron Scott and Shane Collins post solid offensive boards, while Seb Smith swished multiple pull up jump shots and Wilson drained buckets from outside the arc.

Cavaliers relied on the inside game of big man Dave Minay from the outset and stayed close throughout the first quarter. Increased defensive pressure into the second troubled their offence though and led to a series of turnovers that gave Wolves fast-break opportunities.

A pair of three-pointers from Mike Lewis and Daniel Dunajewski slowed the Wolves momentum and brought Cavs within two baskets with less than three minutes in the half, and it looked like the scoreline would stay close heading into the break.

That wasn’t to be, as Capkanovski and Wilson shook up the game in the final two minutes, splashing a barrage of three-points that saw Wolves triple their lead, 45-29 at half-time.

Full-court ball defence marked the start of the second half as Oscar Lace piled pressure on the Cavaliers ball handler every offence. The move paid dividends in turnovers and fast breaks and allowed Wolves to add 11 points to their lead without reply.

A timeout from Cavaliers let them regain their composure and more chances started to flow, with Mike Lewis and Les Winnicki finding the mark.

Wolves were on the march though and there was little that Cavs could do to slow their pace as Lace and Wilson splashed threes while Capkanovski and Smith found routes to the basket.

With the final buzzer Wolves had booked the first spot in this year’s final with a solid 91-51 victory.

The second semi-final game saw DGU Jets take on Cannons Elite in a to-and-fro affair.

Rowan Coulter and Oliver Hamilton were quick to open for Cannons with two solid three-pointers over the top of the Jets zone defence in the first minute.

The strong opening offences were coupled with a disruptive box-and-one defence that frustrated Jets’ pointguard Tom Dalton-Brown and denied their offensive sets. The efforts kept Jets on the backfoot for most of the first half and allowed Cannons to maintain their opening lead for much of the first quarter.

Jake Glover and Wayne Mears helped to start the Jets engines with some solid fast breaks and decent mid-range shots throughout the first, with the former providing a boost at the start of the second quarter through a trio of fast-break baskets.

Cannons kept some points on the board through outside shots from Jack Wilkinson and foul free-throws but couldn’t match the pace as Logan Glover joined the fray for Jets.

As the half-time buzzer sounded Jets had a solid lead, 41-29, but Cannons still felt like a threat.

A Cannons change to 2-3 zone at the start of the second half eased the pressure on Dalton-Brown and he responded with two quick three-pointers that extended the Jets lead.

The latter’s offence started to settle and opportunities followed for Mattie Jennings on the inside and Tom Crosbie on the drive. It was Crosbie who helped put the game to bed with a series of strong drives and shots that cracked open the Cannons defence and pushed Jets further ahead.

A surge by Cannons at the middle of the third gave some hope but the momentum wasn’t sustained and at the fourth quarter was firmly under Jets control. Another outside shot from Dalton-Brown and mid-ranges from Crosbie sealed Jets’ place in the final, 84-66, though Cannons had beaten the spread.

The stage is now set for this season's Championship final as defending champions DGU Jets will face league rivals Wolves on the NSC arena court.

Jets have had an undefeated season thus far and will look to use the pace of players like Jake Glover combined with the solid shooting of Tom Dalton-Brown, Wayne Mears and Tom Dalton-Brown to claim back-to-back trophies.

There will be some concern on the Jets bench though as they have posted some less settled performances in the latter season and will hope to contain nerves that have cost them in finals past.

Meanwhile Wolves will seek to capitalise on the returning experience of veteran guard Ross Wilson in combination with solid shooting of point guard Viktor Capkanovski. With the defensive pressure of Oscar Lace and Seb Smith, along with the big man presence of Cameron Scott, they will hope to create some solid turbulence in the Jets offensive flow.

Last season's overtime loss to Jets will also be front and centre in Wolves’ minds as they seek their third league title in four finals appearances.

The Championship final will tip off at 8pm this Thursday on the arena court in the NSC main hall, with free seating available to any spectators wishing to attend.

Last week also saw the conclusion of the D2 Development League with a tough final fought between Reapers and Hornets.

Injury left Hornets short benched, but they kept pace with Reapers through solid inside play from Micah Clarricoats and the outside shooting of Tristan Airola.

Reapers managed a breakthrough in the third quarter though as strong drives from Yohanan Batugal and Jens Cullen provided plenty of points.

As momentum built Reapers pulled further ahead and a swish three-pointer from Brandon Bellew sealed a 62-49 victory and crowned the Reapers champions of the D2 League.

This Thursday will see an all-star squad of development players take on the newly-crowned champions in an exhibition match ahead of the senior league final, with tip off scheduled for 7.30pm.

MARTIN DUNNE