Jarrod Kenny was the last Kiwi standing in Australia after Perth Wildcats emphasised their play-off supremacy to sweep Illawarra Hawks 3-0 in the best of five NBL Grand Final series. Perth retained its title with a 95-86 victory on Sunday on the back of a stunning 45 points from import Bryce Cotton. The win extends Perth’s record number of championships to eight.
Kenny joins a select band of Kiwis that have won two Australian NBL titles. The former Westlake Boys stand out doesn’t produce stunning numbers for the Wildcats, he scored just two points in game three, but he fills his role as back up to captain Damian Martin in style. An unselfish facilitator and resilient defender Kenny is the perfect foil to the ‘Cats’ talisman and has played a significant part in Perth’s success over the past two seasons.
Perth Lynx were unable to duplicate the men’s success as they exited the Women’s National Basketball League play-offs at the semi-final stage in a tie also played on Sunday
Having levelled the three game series in Perth on Friday the Lynx were looking to return to the final having finished runners-up last season. It was not to be as they were defeated 81-63 by Dandenong Rangers.
Tall Ferns guard Toni Edmondson again had the ice cold shooting hand, going zero from four – having shot 2 of 12 on Friday. The Cantabrian did accumulate 6 rebounds but the Lynx will now have to lick their wounds and prepare for the 2017/18 season, as Dandenong go on the face Sydney University Flames in the Grand Final.
LACEY LOWDOWN 