Home Is Where The Hawks Is

Written by Margaret Va'afusu'aga

Courtesy of RobShots

The Illawarra Hawks have clinched their spot in the NBL1 East Championship Final after taking down Centre of Excellence (CoE) 98 - 89, at Illawarra’s basketball haven.

It was a miserable wet night in the ‘Gong but that didn’t stop more than 1,000 fans packing out the Snakepit to see their Hawks secure a spot in the ‘Big Dance’.

NBL1 MVP Todd Blanchfield put on another clinic finishing the night with a double-double of 27 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. The skipper had plenty of shots from downtown, but it was his defensive pressure that inspired his side to stay hungry.

Unlike their previous outing, Illawarra were unable to get off to a red-hot start. The visitor’s Nash Walker was proving to be a handful closing out the first half with 13 points to get his side trialling behind 44 - 37. And it looked like the 17-year-old was only getting started, opening the scoring right after half-time.

Yet, the Hawks answered immediately with Kobe White-McDowell sinking a three to spark an offensive blitz from the home side. Matthew Mims led the charge in the third quarter to fire up not only his side but the Hawks faithful too. He dropped 13 points with three from long-range as well as shutting down any attacking momentum from Walker.

CoE did well to stay in it with forward Che Brogan putting up 18 points and 4 / 6 three-pointers whilst Ajax Nyoun held it down in the key with 12 points and seven rebounds.

However, with the Snakepit pumping, the hosts stayed determined to keep their finals hopes alive and fight off a potential late comeback from CoE.

A play from Lachlan Dent in the last quarter set up for a lovely match moment for all. The guard made an executed steal for a fast breakaway down the line before finding an unmarked McDowell-White to fire one from deep.

McDowell-White was short of a triple double, finishing the night on 19 points, 11 dimes and nine rebounds, while Dent had 14 points, seven rebounds, three assist and two steals. Quite achiever Kyle Leslie switched it on at both ends of the court, with the big man shooting 5 / 10 three-pointers contributing to his 19 points and five rebounds.

But it was all Blanchfield at this final home game. Wollongong’s love for the 33-year-old is nothing short of pure admiration. His passion and leadership were laid bare on the court and fans were enjoying every second of it. In the final term, chants of ‘MVP’ went up as he took the free throw line – even his technical foul had the ‘Ill-a-war-ra’ cries echoing through the stadium.

The feeling is mutual with the forward inking a two-year extension with Basketball Illawarra – and the way he’s going, he’ll only get better with time. For now, his focus is to bring a NBL1 championship to the Illawarra.

The Hawks will now prepare to play Canberra Gunners, following their win over Sutherland Sharks 84 - 76 in the other Preliminary Final.

NBL1 East Championship Final is 5.30pm, Saturday 16 August 2025 at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. Head to NBL1 for ticketing information.

Get tickets here - bnsw.info/NBL1EGF24-TIX