1988 NBL Finals

June 2020 June 2020 June 2020 1988 NBL Finals National Basketball League Basketball 14 July - 7 August 1988 6 Seven Network NBL Finals Canberra Cannons North Melbourne Giants Phil Smyth NBL (Australia) Most Valuable Player – Grand Final 1987 1989 The 1988 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1988 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Canberra Cannons defeated the North Melbourne Giants in three games (2-1) for their third NBL championship. Format The 1988 National Basketball League Finals started on 14 July and concluded on 7 August. The playoffs consisted of two knockout Quarter 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 Adelaide 36ers and North Melbourne Giants both qualified for home court advantage during the Semi-finals. The finals series were played earlier than usual due to the 1988 Summer Olympic Games which were held at the time the NBL normally held their finals (September–October). Qualification Qualified teams Team Finalsappearance Previousappearance Previous bestperformance Adelaide 36ers 5th 1987 Champions (1986) North Melbourne Giants 1st - 6th in 1987 Canberra Cannons 7th 1987 Champions (1983, 1984) Brisbane Bullets 7th 1987 Champions (1985, 1987) Perth Wildcats 2nd 1987 Runner up (1987) Newcastle Falcons 4th 1987 4th in 1984 and 1985 Ladder Playoff bracket Elimination Finals (3) Canberra Cannons vs (6) Newcastle Falcons #eee 14 July AIS Arena, Canberra Seven Network Bill Mildenhall, Robert Barnett Canberra Cannons 107 Newcastle Falcons 92 boxscore 24-16 23-33 30-23 30-20 Simon Cottrell 23 Wayne Mcdaniel 37 Willie Simmons 23 Jerry Everett 19 Phil Smyth 7 Jerry Everett 2 (4) Brisbane Bullets vs (5) Perth Wildcats #eee 16 July Brisbane Entertainment Centre Seven Network Ray Hunt, Geoff Weeks Brisbane Bullets 98 Perth Wildcats 113 boxscore 26-27 26-28 23-27 31-23 Leroy Loggins 31 Cal Bruton 31 Leroy Loggins 11 Kendal Pinder 21 Leroy Loggins 8 Mike Ellis 4 Semifinals (1) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Canberra Cannons Game 1 #eee 19 July AIS Arena, Canberra Seven Network Ray Hunt, Robert Barnett 5,200 Canberra Cannons 100 Adelaide 36ers 91 boxscore 19-26 37-21 27-17 17-27 Tad Dufelmeier 23 Mark Davis 27 Willie Simmons 11 Mark Davis 15 Smyth, McEachin 4 each Darryl Pearce 4 Canberra lead the series 1-0 Game 2 #eee 22 July Apollo Stadium, Adelaide Seven Network Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall 3,000 Adelaide 36ers 95 Canberra Cannons 100 boxscore 21-23 33-29 18-27 23-21 Mark Davis 26 Phil Smyth 28 Mark Davis 20 Willie Simmons 17 Al Green 5 Phil Smyth 6 Canberra win the series 2-0 (2) North Melbourne Giants vs (5) Perth Wildcats Game 1 #eee 20 July Perth Superdrome Seven Network Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks 4,500 Perth Wildcats 108 North Melbourne Giants 105 boxscore 35-32 28-31 29-22 16-20 Kendal Pinder 25 Fisher, Dillon 26 each James Crawford 15 Fisher, Leader 11 each Cal Bruton 6 Leader, Graham 4 each Perth lead the series 1-0 Game 2 #eee 22 July The Glass House, Melbourne Seven Network Ray Hunt, Geoff Weeks 7,200 North Melbourne Giants 137 Perth Wildcats 113 boxscore 27-26 26-28 40-27 44-32 Tim Dillon 44 Kendal Pinder 23 Tim Dillon 15 Paul Kuiper 10 Dillon, Fisher 7 each Cal Bruton 4 Series tied at 1-1 Game 3 #eee 24 July The Glass House, Melbourne Seven Network Ray Hunt, Eddie Crouch 7,200 North Melbourne Giants 134 Perth Wildcats 111 boxscore 31-29 33-21 24-37 46-24 Tim Dillon 44 Kendal Pinder 40 Tim Dillon 9 Kendal Pinder 17 Wayne Carroll 10 Mike Ellis 10 North Melbourne win the series 2-1 Grand Final series (2) North Melbourne Giants vs (3) Canberra Cannons Game 1 #eee 30 July AIS Arena, Canberra Seven Network Ray Hunt, Bill Mildenhall 5,200 Canberra Cannons 120 North Melbourne Giants 95 boxscore 30-25 25-24 37-22 28-24 Phil Smyth 25 Tim Dillon 29 Willie Simmons 12 Tim Dillon 16 Phil Smyth 8 Wayne Carroll, Fisher 3 each Canberra leads series 1-0 Game 2 #eee 5 August The Glass House, Melbourne Seven Network Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks 7,200 North Melbourne Giants 117 Canberra Cannons 101 boxscore 33-32 29-11 34-28 30-21 Tim Dillon 43 Jamie Kennedy 27 Tim Dillon 11 Willie Simmons 13 Wayne Carroll 7 Phil Smyth 7 Series tied at 1-1 Game 3 #eee 7 August The Glass House, Melbourne Seven Network Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall 7,200 North Melbourne Giants 101 Canberra Cannons 108 boxscore 24-26 23-26 28-25 26-31 David Graham 28 Willie Simmons 23 Tim Dillon 10 Willie Simmons 10 Wayne Carroll 6 Herb McEachin 6 Canberra wins series and NBL Championship, 2–1Grand Final MVP: Phil Smyth (Canberra) See also 1988 NBL season References Finals Category:National Basketball League (Australia) Finals