# 1989 NBL Finals

The 1989 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1989 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The North Melbourne Giants defeated the Canberra Cannons in two games (2-0) for their first NBL championship.

## Format

The 1989 National Basketball League Finals started on 20 September and concluded on 20 October. The playoffs consisted of two best of three Elimination finals, two best of three Semi-finals and the best of three game Grand Final series. As the two top teams at the end of the regular season, the North Melbourne Giants and Canberra Cannons both qualified for home court advantage during the Semi-finals.

## Qualification
### Qualified teams

| Team | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| North Melbourne Giants | 2nd | 1988 | Runner up in 1988 |
| Canberra Cannons | 8th | 1988 | Champions (1983, 1984, 1988) |
| Perth Wildcats | 2nd | 1988 | Runner up (1987) |
| Melbourne Tigers | 1st | - | 9th in 1984 |
| Sydney Kings | 1st | - | 9th in 1988 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 6th | 1988 | Champions (1986) |

### Ladder

| Pos | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte | 1989 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Canberra Cannons | 24 | 18 | 6 | 75.00% | 4–1 | W4 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 2736 | 2580 | 106.05% |
| 2 | North Melbourne Giants | 24 | 17 | 7 | 70.33% | 5–0 | W7 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 2993 | 2701 | 110.81% |
| 3 | Perth Wildcats$^1$ | 24 | 16 | 8 | 66.67% | 3–2 | W2 | 11–1 | 5–7 | 2681 | 2660 | 100.79% |
| 4 | Melbourne Tigers$^1$ | 24 | 16 | 8 | 66.67% | 3–2 | L2 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 2802 | 2660 | 105.34% |
| 5 | Sydney Kings$^2$ | 24 | 15 | 9 | 62.50% | 2–3 | L2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 2471 | 2489 | 99.28% |
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers$^2$ | 24 | 15 | 9 | 62.50% | 3–2 | W2 | 10–2 | 5–7 | 2778 | 2668 | 104.12% |
| 7 | Eastside Spectres | 24 | 14 | 10 | 53.85% | 4–1 | W4 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 2527 | 2454 | 102.97% |
| 8 | Brisbane Bullets | 24 | 11 | 13 | 45.83% | 1–4 | W1 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 2563 | 2492 | 102.85% |
| 9 | Westside Saints$^3$ | 24 | 8 | 16 | 33.33% | 3–2 | W1 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 2522 | 2648 | 95.24% |
| 10 | Hobart Tassie Devils$^3$ | 24 | 8 | 16 | 33.33% | 3–2 | W1 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 2566 | 2757 | 93.07% |
| 11 | Illawarra Hawks | 24 | 7 | 17 | 29.17% | 0–5 | L6 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 2826 | 2929 | 96.48% |
| 12 | Newcastle Falcons | 24 | 6 | 18 | 25.00% | 2–3 | L2 | 5–7 | 1–11 | 2649 | 2799 | 94.64% |
| 13 | Geelong Supercats | 24 | 5 | 19 | 20.83% | 0–5 | L6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 2445 | 2722 | 89.82% |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 September 1989. Source: NBL.com.au

## Playoff bracket

| Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | | | 1 | Canberra Cannons | 108 | 92 | 142 | | | | | |
| 4 | Melbourne Tigers | 105 | 112 | 83 | 5 | Sydney Kings | 98 | 100 | 82 | | | | | |
| 5 | Sydney Kings | 117 | 89 | 85 | | | | | | 1 | Canberra Cannons | 105 | 97 | X |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | North Melbourne Giants | 111 | 111 | X |
| | | | | | 2 | North Melbourne Giants | 129 | 108 | 165 | | | | | |
| 3 | Perth Wildcats | 122 | 114 | 112 | 3 | Perth Wildcats | 108 | 111 | 110 | | | | | |
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers | 124 | 94 | 108 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Elimination Finals
### (3) Perth Wildcats vs (6) Adelaide 36ers
#### Game 1

* Seven Network
* 20 September
* boxscore
Adelaide 36ers 124, Perth Wildcats 122 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33-31, 27-37, 33-35, 31-19 |||
| Pts: Pearce, Davis 25 each Rebs: Mark Davis 13 Asts: Mark Bradtke 5 | Pts: Cal Bruton 35 Rebs: Crawford, Pinder 9 each Asts: Mike Ellis 11 |
| Adelaide lead the series 1-0 |||
* Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

#### Game 2

* Seven Network
* 22 September
* boxscore
Perth Wildcats 114, Adelaide 36ers 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27-31, 32-23, 28-18, 27-22 |||
| Pts: Kendal Pinder 25 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14 Asts: Eric Watterson 7 | Pts: Mark Davis 22 Rebs: Mark Davis 20 Asts: Green, Pearce 3 each |
| Series tied at 1-1 |||
* Perth Superdrome Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt

#### Game 3

* Seven Network
* 24 September
* boxscore
Perth Wildcats 112, Adelaide 36ers 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29-35, 34-26, 28-23, 21-24 |||
| Pts: Cal Bruton 29 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14 Asts: Mike Ellis 8 | Pts: Mark Davis 34 Rebs: Orlando Phillips 13 Asts: Darryl Pearce 5 |
| Perth win the series 2-1 |||
* Perth Superdrome Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch

### (4) Melbourne Tigers vs (5) Sydney Kings
#### Game 1

* Seven Network
* 20 September
* boxscore
Sydney Kings 117, Melbourne Tigers 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25-23, 30-29, 29-31, 33-22 |||
| Pts: Ian Davies 30 Rebs: Mark Ridlen 9 Asts: Steve Carfino 8 | Pts: Andrew Gaze 38 Rebs: Gaze, Colbert 8 each Asts: Andrew Gaze |
| Sydney lead the series 1-0 |||
* State Sports Centre, Sydney Attendance: 5,006 Referees: Ray Hunt, Roger Shiels

#### Game 2

* Seven Network
* 22 September
* boxscore
Melbourne Tigers 112, Sydney Kings 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32-26, 35-29, 24-19, 21-15 |||
| Pts: Dave Simmons 33 Rebs: Dave Simmons 15 Asts: Gaze, Giddey 5 each | Pts: Mark Ridlen 25 Rebs: Brad Dalton 12 Asts: Carfino, Keogh 4 each |
| Series tied at 1-1 |||
* The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Geoff Weeks, Bill Mildenhall

#### Game 3

* Seven Network
* 24 September
* boxscore
Melbourne Tigers 83, Sydney Kings 85 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20-30, 29-21, 16-19, 18-15 |||
| Pts: Andrew Gaze 30 Rebs: Warrick Giddey 15 Asts: Ray Gordon 4 | Pts: Mark Ridlen 28 Rebs: Mark Ridlen 18 Asts: Mark Ridlen 4 |
| Sydney wins the series 2-1 |||
* The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Geoff Weeks, Bill Mildenhall

## Semifinals
### (1) Canberra Cannons vs (5) Sydney Kings
#### Game 1

* Seven Network
* 29 September
* boxscore
Sydney Kings 98, Canberra Cannons 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23-33, 30-30, 25-19, 20-26 |||
| Pts: Tim Morrissey 20 Rebs: Morrissey, Ridlen 14 each Asts: Ian Robilliard 6 | Pts: Emery Atkinson 22 Rebs: Emery Atkinson 13 Asts: Emery Atkinson 7 |
| Canberra lead the series 1-0 |||
* State Sports Centre, Sydney Attendance: 5,006 Referees: Ray Hunt, Paul Beale

### Game 2

* Seven Network
* 6 October
* boxscore
Canberra Cannons 92, Sydney Kings 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18-32, 23-17, 18-25, 33-26 |||
| Pts: Emery Atkinson 30 Rebs: Willie Simmons 12 Asts: Emery Atkinson 5 | Pts: Mark Ridlen 29 Rebs: Mark Ridlen 19 Asts: Steve Carfino 5 |
| Series tied at 1-1 |||
* AIS Arena, Canberra Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

### Game 3

* Seven Network
* 8 October
* boxscore
Canberra Cannons 142, Sydney Kings 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33-14, 45-20, 31-17, 33-31 |||
| Pts: Simon Cottrell 34 Rebs: Emery Atkinson 15 Asts: Phil Smyth 10 | Pts: Tim Morrissey 26 Rebs: Brad Dalton 12 Asts: Keogh, Robilliard 4 each |
| Canberra wins the series 2-1 |||
* AIS Arena, Canberra Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

### Game 1

* Seven Network
* 30 September
* boxscore
Perth Wildcats 108, North Melbourne Giants 129 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26-35, 30-23, 18-37, 34-34 |||
| Pts: Cal Bruton 34 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 15 Asts: Eric Watterson 8 | Pts: Scott Fisher 27 Rebs: Scott Fisher 13 Asts: Mark Leader 6 |
| North Melbourne lead the series 1-0 |||
* Perth Superdrome Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

### Game 2

* Seven Network
* 6 October
* boxscore
North Melbourne Giants 108, Perth Wildcats 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 39-23, 22-29, 28-34, 19-25 |||
| Pts: Ray Borner 24 Rebs: Tim Dillon 14 Asts: Mark Leader 5 | Pts: James Crawford 42 Rebs: Kendal Pinder 21 Asts: Cal Bruton 13 |
| Series tied at 1-1 |||
* The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Ray Hunt, Geoff Weeks

### Game 3

* Seven Network
* 8 October
* boxscore
North Melbourne Giants 165, Perth Wildcats 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 37-29, 34-21, 47-24, 47-36 |||
| Pts: Scott Fisher 32 Rebs: Scott Fisher 14 Asts: Graham, Leader 5 each | Pts: Mike Ellis 18 Rebs: Steve Davis 11 Asts: Davis, Ellis, Bruton, Watterson 2 each |
| North Melbourne win the series 2-1 |||
* The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Ray Hunt, Geoff Weeks
North Melbourne's 55 point win over Perth in game 3 of their semi-final series would have been the record winning margin for an NBL Semi-final breaking the previous record of 48 held by Adelaide for their 151–103 win over Newcastle in 1985, except that on the same day Canberra beat Sydney by 60 points in the other semi final series. The Giants’ score of 165 also remains (as of the 2016 NBL Finals) the highest score in an NBL Finals game.

## Grand Final series
### (1) Canberra Cannons vs (2) North Melbourne Giants
#### Game 1

* Seven Network
* 14 October
* boxscore
Canberra Cannons 105, North Melbourne Giants 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22-24, 33-24, 24-27, 26-36 |||
| Pts: Phil Smyth 23 Rebs: Emery Atkinson 11 Asts: Dufelmeier, Atkinson 5 each | Pts: Scott Fisher 37 Rebs: Tim Dillon 11 Asts: Carroll, Leader 4 each |
| North Melbourne leads series 1-0 |||
* AIS Arena, Canberra Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Eddie Crouch

#### Game 2

* Seven Network
* 20 October
* boxscore
North Melbourne Giants 111, Canberra Cannons 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25-36, 31-20, 21-20, 34-21 |||
| Pts: Scott Fisher 33 Rebs: Tim Dillon 15 Asts: David Graham 5 | Pts: Simmons, Mceachin 20 each Rebs: Willie Simmons 14 Asts: Emery Atkinson 3 |
| North Melbourne wins series and NBL Championship, 2–0 Grand Final MVP: Scott Fisher (North Melbourne) |||
* The Glass House, Melbourne Attendance: 7,200 Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall