# 1986 NBL Finals

The 1986 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1986 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets in three games (2-1) for the first NBL championship.

## Format

The 1986 National Basketball League Finals was played in October 1986 between the top six teams of the regular season, consisting of knockout Elimination Finals and Semifinals followed by the league's first ever three-game Grand Final series.

## Qualification
### Qualified teams

| Team | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| Adelaide 36ers | 3rd | 1985 | Runner-up (1985) |
| Canberra Cannons | 5th | 1985 | Champions (1983, 1984) |
| Brisbane Bullets | 5th | 1985 | Champions (1985) |
| Sydney Supersonics | 2nd | 1983 | 1983 minor premiers |
| Illawarra Hawks | 2nd | 1984 | 8th in 1984 |
| West Sydney Westars | 1st | - | First season in NBL |
The Ken Cole coached Adelaide 36ers had stormed through the regular season with a 24–2 record, including a 13–0 record on their home court at the Apollo Stadium, to finish 5 games clear of the Canberra Cannons and 7 clear of the defending champion Brisbane Bullets. They were also the only team in the league to score over 3,000 points during the season (3,016) and went into the Finals on a 12-game winning streak. The 36ers only losses for the regular season had come away from home on last second buzzer beaters from the West Sydney Westars and Coburg Giants respectively.

### Ladder

This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.
| Pos | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte | 1986 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Adelaide 36ers | 26 | 24 | 2 | 92.31% | 5–0 | W12 | 13–0 | 11–2 | 3016 | 2510 | 120.16% |
| 2 | Canberra Cannons | 26 | 19 | 7 | 73.11% | 4–1 | W1 | 11–2 | 8–5 | 2718 | 2520 | 107.86% |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 26 | 17 | 9 | 65.38% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 2650 | 2485 | 106.64% |
| 4 | West Sydney Westars$^1$ | 26 | 15 | 11 | 57.69% | 3–2 | W2 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 2519 | 2492 | 101.08% |
| 5 | Illawarra Hawks$^1$ | 26 | 15 | 11 | 57.69% | 3–2 | W2 | 10–3 | 5–8 | 2551 | 2472 | 103.20% |
| 6 | Sydney Supersonics$^2$ | 26 | 14 | 12 | 53.85% | 3–2 | W2 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 2518 | 2438 | 103.28% |
| 7 | Geelong Cats$^2$ | 26 | 14 | 12 | 53.85% | 2–3 | W1 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 2875 | 2889 | 99.52% |
| 8 | Coburg Giants$^2$ | 26 | 14 | 12 | 53.85% | 2–3 | W2 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 2841 | 2825 | 100.57% |
| 9 | Nunawading Spectres | 26 | 12 | 14 | 46.15% | 4–1 | L1 | 8–5 | 4–9 | 2592 | 2642 | 98.11% |
| 10 | Newcastle Falcons | 26 | 10 | 16 | 38.46% | 1–4 | L4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 2782 | 2878 | 96.66% |
| 11 | Hobart Devils | 26 | 9 | 17 | 34.62% | 2–3 | L1 | 7–6 | 2–11 | 2606 | 2704 | 96.38% |
| 12 | Perth Wildcats | 26 | 8 | 18 | 30.77% | 0–5 | L5 | 6–7 | 2–11 | 2458 | 2693 | 91.27% |
| 13 | Melbourne Tigers | 26 | 6 | 20 | 23.08% | 1–4 | L1 | 5–8 | 1–12 | 2822 | 3089 | 91.36% |
| 14 | St. Kilda Saints | 26 | 5 | 21 | 19.23% | 1–4 | L2 | 3–10 | 2–11 | 2742 | 3053 | 89.81% |
Updated to match(es) played on 28 September 1986. 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.

## Playoff bracket

| Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | 1 | Adelaide 36ers | 116 | | | | | |
| 4 | West Sydney Westars | 86 | 5 | Illawarra Hawks | 92 | | | | | |
| 5 | Illawarra Hawks | 105 | | | | 1 | Adelaide 36ers | 122 | 83 | 113 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 119 | 104 | 91 |
| | | | 2 | Canberra Cannons | 100 | | | | | |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 100 | 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 120 | | | | | |
| 6 | Sydney Supersonics | 82 | | | | | | | | |

## Elimination Finals
### (3) Brisbane Bullets vs (6) Sydney Supersonics

* TV 0
* 1 October
* boxscore
Brisbane Bullets 100, Sydney Supersonics 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20-20, 14-6, 41-23, 22-33 |||
| Pts: Leroy Loggins 28 Rebs: Leroy Loggins 10 Asts: Cal Bruton 6 | Pts: Kendal Pinder 27 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14 Asts: Wayne Burden 4 |
* Brisbane Entertainment Centre Referees: Eddie Crouch, Steve Bignell

### (4) West Sydney Westars vs (5) Illawarra Hawks

* ABC
* 1 October
* boxscore
West Sydney Westars 86, Illawarra Hawks 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 12-31, 24-24, 20-23, 30-27 |||
| Pts: Harmison, Kelley 20 each Rebs: Vince Kelley 21 Asts: Damian Keogh 6 | Pts: Borner, Hammond 20 each Rebs: Don Bickett 11 Asts: Alphonse Hammond 6 |
* State Sports Centre, Sydney Attendance: 5,006 Referees: Ray Hunt, Bob Barnett

## Semifinals
### (2) Canberra Cannons vs (3) Brisbane Bullets

* ABC
* 4 October
* boxscore
Canberra Cannons 100, Brisbane Bullets 120 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30-19, 23-29, 27-36, 20-36 |||
| Pts: Simon Cottrell 25 Rebs: James Crawford 14 Asts: Phil Smyth 4 | Pts: Leroy Loggins 43 Rebs: Leroy Loggins 9 Asts: Ron Radliff 3 |
* AIS Arena, Canberra Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

### (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (5) Illawarra Hawks

* SAS 10
* 4 October
* boxscore
Adelaide 36ers 116, Illawarra Hawks 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28-14, 27-24, 36-23, 25-31 |||
| Pts: Darryl Pearce 28 Rebs: Mark Davis 14 Asts: Darryl Pearce 7 | Pts: Ray Borner 28 Rebs: Ray Borner 14 Asts: McLeod, Kubank 4 each |
* Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Ray Hunt, Bill Mildenhall

## Grand Final series

After the Grand Final had been the traditional single game since the league began in 1979, the NBL introduced a three-game Grand Final series for 1986. They were rewarded when not only did the series go for all three games, but in Game 1 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre a then Australian indoor sports attendance record of 11,000 saw the game go into overtime.

### Teams
#### Adelaide 36ers (1)

* Head coach: Ken Cole
* Assistant coach: Don Shipway
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserves |
| C | Bill Jones (c) | | | |
| PF | Mark Davis | Dwayne Nelson | | |
| SF | Peter Ali | | Peter Sexton | Mark Sykes |
| SG | Darryl Pearce | Mike McKay | Scott Ninnis | |
| PG | Al Green | Ray Wood | David Spear | |

#### Brisbane Bullets (3)

* Head coach: Brian Kerle
| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | John Dorge | Dave Nelson |
| PF | Robert Sibley | Chris McGraw |
| SF | Larry Sengstock (c) | Danny Morseu |
| SG | Leroy Loggins | Tom Gerhardt |
| PG | Ron Radliff | Cal Bruton |

### (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Brisbane Bullets
#### Game 1

* TV 0
* 11 October 7:30 p.m. EST
* boxscore
Brisbane Bullets 119, Adelaide 36ers 122 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 26-24, 15-28, 32-24, 38-35, Overtime: 8-11 |||
| Pts: Leroy Loggins 38 Rebs: Larry Sengstock 8 Asts: Ron Radliff 6 | Pts: Mark Davis 38 Rebs: Mark Davis 23 Asts: Mark Davis 5 |
| Adelaide leads series, 1–0 |||
* Brisbane Entertainment Centre Attendance: 11,000 Referees: Ray Hunt, Steve Bignell
Adelaide led early, but a series of silly turnovers saw the Bullets take a 26–24 lead at the end of the first. Leroy Loggins then struck foul trouble in the second and led by their 'Twin Towers' Mark Davis and Bill Jones, Adelaide raced out to a 52–41 half time lead. With Loggins back in the third hitting his first 6 shots, Brisbane outscored the 36ers 32–24 and the lead was cut to just 3 points. The teams went toe to toe in the last but the turning point was Bill Jones stepping in front of Loggins who was called for the charge and was out of the game with 5 fouls. However, the score was locked at 111–111 at the end of time and the game was in overtime. Cooler heads prevailed for the series favourites and after Ray Wood stole an inbound pass that killed the Bullets chances, Adelaide won 122–119. For Adelaide, Davis scored 38 points and pulled in 23 rebounds while Loggins scored 38 for the Bullets.

#### Game 2

* SAS 10
* 17 October 7:30 p.m. CST
* boxscore
Adelaide 36ers 83, Brisbane Bullets 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20-31, 33-23, 18-31, 12-19 |||
| Pts: Darryl Pearce 29 Rebs: Bill Jones 17 Asts: Darryl Pearce 6 | Pts: Cal Bruton 38 Rebs: Leroy Loggins 11 Asts: Ron Radliff 5 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch
Game 2 in Adelaide was expected to see the 36ers, who had gone 14–0 at home to that point of the season, warp up their first NBL title. However, the defending champions, led by 38 points from Cal Bruton, would not go quietly. An early elbow injury to Mark Davis limited his effectiveness in the game and it was left to Darryl Pearce to keep the Adelaide scoreboard ticking over. Pearce scored 29 for Adelaide including hitting six 3-pointers during the second period. However it wasn't enough as Brian Kearle's Bullets stunned the 3,000 in attendance and won the game 104–83 to not only tie the series, but to end Adelaide's 20 game winning streak at home dating back to June 1985.

#### Game 3

* SAS 10
* 19 October 2:00 p.m. CST
* boxscore
Adelaide 36ers 113, Brisbane Bullets 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 35-25, 19-27, 26-24, 33-15 |||
| Pts: Darryl Pearce 27 Rebs: Mark Davis 25 Asts: Darryl Pearce 2 | Pts: Cal Bruton 31 Rebs: Larry Sengstock 14 Asts: Leroy Loggins 5 |
| Adelaide wins series and NBL Championship, 2–1 Grand Final MVP: Mark Davis (Adelaide) |||
* Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch
Game 3 at the Apollo Stadium was a back and forth affair. The 36ers jumped out early and led 35–25 at the end of the first, while Brisbane hit back in the second and, coming from 16 points down to actually lead at one point, and were only down by 2 at the half. The third period saw Leroy Loggins, frustrated by the close, physical defence of Peter Ali, Dwayne Nelson and Mike McKay, foul out for the second time in the series. Despite 31 points from Cal Bruton, 22 from Ron Radliff and 14 rebounds from captain Larry Sengstock, Adelaide, led by Pearce with 27 points, Davis and Al Green with 22 points, and Davis and Jones with 25 and 13 rebounds respectively, had all the answers in the last to run away with the game 113–91 to win their first NBL Championship.
36ers Power forward Mark Davis, who averaged 24.3 points, 19.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over the 3 games was named the Most Valuable Player for the Grand Final series.