The 1990 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1990 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Perth Wildcats defeated the Brisbane Bullets in three games (2-1) for their first NBL championship.

1990 NBL Finals
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration26 September - 28 October 1990
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)Seven Network
NBL Finals
ChampionsPerth Wildcats
  Runners-upBrisbane Bullets
Finals MVPRicky Grace
Seasons
← 1989
1991 →

Format

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The 1990 National Basketball League Finals started on 26 September and concluded on 28 October. The playoffs consisted of two best of three Elimination Finals, two best of three Semifinals 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 Eastside Spectres both qualified for home court advantage during the Semifinals.

Qualification

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Qualified teams

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Team Finals
appearance
Previous
appearance
Previous best
performance
North Melbourne Giants 3rd 1989 Champions (1989)
Eastside Spectres 6th 1985 Runner up (1981)
Brisbane Bullets 8th 1988 Champions (1985, 1987)
Perth Wildcats 4th 1989 Runner up (1987)
Melbourne Tigers 2nd 1989 5th in 1989
Sydney Kings 2nd 1989 4th in 1989

Ladder

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Pos 1990 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 North Melbourne Giants 26 20 6 76.92% 3–2 W3 10–3 10–3 3111 2889 107.68%
2 Eastside Spectres1 26 18 8 69.23% 3–2 W1 10–3 8–5 3028 2858 105.95%
3 Brisbane Bullets1 26 18 8 69.23% 3–2 W1 9–4 9–4 3053 2902 105.20%
4 Melbourne Tigers2 26 17 9 65.38% 4–1 L1 11–2 6–7 3226 3018 106.89%
5 Perth Wildcats2 26 17 9 65.38% 3–2 W2 11–2 6–7 2926 2791 104.84%
6 Sydney Kings3 26 16 10 61.54% 3–2 W2 9–4 7–6 2819 2710 104.02%
7 Canberra Cannons3 26 16 10 61.54% 4–1 L1 10–3 6–7 2918 2843 102.64%
8 Illawarra Hawks 26 13 13 50.00% 1–4 L2 9–4 4–9 3056 3094 98.77%
9 Adelaide 36ers 26 12 14 46.15% 3–2 L1 9–4 3–10 3042 2997 101.50%
10 Geelong Supercats 26 11 15 42.31% 3–2 W1 8–5 3–10 3002 2997 100.17%
11 Gold Coast Cougars 26 9 17 34.62% 1–4 L3 6–7 3–10 2880 2978 96.71%
12 Hobart Tassie Devils 26 8 18 30.77% 1–4 L1 5–8 3–10 2926 3149 92.92%
13 Newcastle Falcons 26 4 22 15.38% 3–2 W1 4–9 0–13 2796 3135 89.19%
14 Westside Saints 26 3 23 11.54% 0–5 L7 2–11 1–12 2713 3135 86.54%

Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 1990. 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.

1Head-to-Head between Eastside Spectres and Brisbane Bullets (1-1). Eastside Spectres won For and Against (+7).

2Head-to-Head between Melbourne Tigers and Perth Wildcats (1-1). Melbourne Tigers won For and Against (+11).

3Sydney Kings won Head-to-Head (2-0).

Playoff bracket

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Elimination Finals Semifinals Grand Final
1 North Melbourne Giants 111 131 110
4 Melbourne Tigers 100 113 X 5 Perth Wildcats 121 110 112
5 Perth Wildcats 122 123 X 3 Brisbane Bullets 106 106 86
5 Perth Wildcats 112 90 109
2 Eastside Spectres 111 119 X
3 Brisbane Bullets 87 124 107 3 Brisbane Bullets 121 120 X
6 Sydney Kings 98 96 104


Elimination Finals

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(4) Perth Wildcats vs (5) Melbourne Tigers

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Game 1

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26 September
Perth Wildcats 122, Melbourne Tigers 100
Scoring by quarter: 26-24, 29-29, 28-22, 39-25
Pts: Ricky Grace 30
Rebs: Kendal Pinder 11
Asts: Ricky Grace 7
Pts: Dave Colbert 52
Rebs: Dave Colbert 9
Asts: Nigel Purchase 4
Perth lead the series 1-0
Perth Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 8,200
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Geoff Weeks

Game 2

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28 September
Melbourne Tigers 113, Perth Wildcats 123
Scoring by quarter: 24-21, 32-32, 28-31, 29-39
Pts: Dave Colbert 42
Rebs: Colbert, Simmons 9 each
Asts: Nigel Purchase 7
Pts: Kendal Pinder 29
Rebs: James Crawford 9
Asts: Mike Ellis 10
Perth win the series 2-0
The Glass House, Melbourne
Attendance: 7,200
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Geoff Weeks

(3) Brisbane Bullets vs (6) Sydney Kings

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Game 1

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26 September
Sydney Kings 98, Brisbane Bullets 87
Scoring by quarter: 25-19, 24-24, 21-26, 28-18
Pts: Damian Keogh 26
Rebs: Mark Ridlen 13
Asts: Damian Keogh 5
Pts: Andre Moore 28
Rebs: Leroy Loggins 11
Asts: Derek Rucker 6
Sydney lead the series 1-0
State Sports Centre, Sydney
Attendance: 5,006
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt

Game 2

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28 September
Brisbane Bullets 124, Sydney Kings 96
Scoring by quarter: 30-30, 28-20, 38-21, 28-25
Pts: Derek Rucker 37
Rebs: Loggins, Moore 10 each
Asts: Derek Rucker 5
Pts: Steve Carfino 30
Rebs: Ridlen, Svaldenis 6 each
Asts: Carfino, Robilliard, Dalton 5 each
Series tied at 1-1
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt

Game 3

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30 September
Brisbane Bullets 107, Sydney Kings 104
Scoring by quarter: 33-25, 28-23, 25-26, 21-30
Pts: Derek Rucker 46
Rebs: Andre Moore 9
Asts: Rucker, Fox 6 each
Pts: Mark Ridlen 35
Rebs: Mark Dalton 9
Asts: Steve Carfino 4
Brisbane wins the series 2-1
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Ray Hunt

Semifinals

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(2) Eastside Spectres vs (3) Brisbane Bullets

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Game 1

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6 October
Brisbane Bullets 121, Eastside Spectres 111
Scoring by quarter: 38-30, 23-22, 26-26, 34-33
Pts: Andre Moore 36
Rebs: Andre Moore 13
Asts: Greg Fox 9
Pts: Darren Perry 22
Rebs: Dean Uthoff 12
Asts: Darren Perry 12
Brisbane lead the series 1-0
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Ray Hunt

Game 2

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13 October
Eastside Spectres 119, Brisbane Bullets 120
Scoring by quarter: 26-32, 31-28, 27-35, 29-18
Pts: Bruce Bolden 35
Rebs: Dean Uthoff 12
Asts: Bruce Bolden 8
Pts: Andre Moore 35
Rebs: Andre Moore 10
Asts: Greg Fox 10
Brisbane wins the series 2-0
The Glass House, Melbourne
Attendance: 7,200
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Ray Hunt

(1) North Melbourne Giants vs (4) Perth Wildcats

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Game 1

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6 October
Perth Wildcats 121, North Melbourne Giants 111
Scoring by quarter: 29-28, 28-30, 35-29, 29-24
Pts: Ricky Grace 39
Rebs: Kendal Pinder 14
Asts: Mike Ellis 12
Pts: Scott Fisher 27
Rebs: Scott Fisher 12
Asts: Joe Hillman 7
Perth lead the series 1-0
Perth Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 8,200
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

Game 2

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12 October
North Melbourne Giants 131, Perth Wildcats 110
Scoring by quarter: 31-23, 31-37, 35-23, 34-27
Pts: Scott Fisher 35
Rebs: Scott Fisher 14
Asts: Joe Hillman 4
Pts: Ricky Grace 25
Rebs: James Crawford 15
Asts: Mike Ellis 7
Series tied at 1-1
The Glass House, Melbourne
Attendance: 7,200
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

Game 3

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14 October
North Melbourne Giants 110, Perth Wildcats 112 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 20-25, 34-23, 26-30, 20-22Overtime: 10-12
Pts: Scott Fisher 32
Rebs: Scott Fisher 21
Asts: Hillman, Fisher 4 each
Pts: Kendal Pinder 28
Rebs: Kendal Pinder 13
Asts: Ricky Grace 11
Perth win the series 2-1
The Glass House, Melbourne
Attendance: 7,200
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Geoff Weeks

Grand Final series

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The 1990 Grand Final series between the Brisbane Bullets and Perth Wildcats saw a then record aggregate attendance for an NBL Grand Final series with 34,580 attending the 3 games. Game 2 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre attracted a then record Australian indoor sporting attendance (and NBL record crowd) of 13,221.

(3) Brisbane Bullets vs (4) Perth Wildcats

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Game 1

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19 October
Perth Wildcats 112, Brisbane Bullets 106
Scoring by quarter: 32-20, 20-32, 32-23, 28-31
Pts: Ricky Grace 32
Rebs: James Crawford 14
Asts: Mike Ellis 9
Pts: Derek Rucker 27
Rebs: Andre Moore 14
Asts: Derek Rucker 10
Perth leads series 1-0
Perth Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 8,200
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Eddie Crouch

Game 2

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26 October
Brisbane Bullets 106, Perth Wildcats 90
Scoring by quarter: 28-20, 23-17, 34-27, 21-26
Pts: Derek Rucker 27
Rebs: Andre Moore 13
Asts: Derek Rucker 7
Pts: James Crawford 22
Rebs: James Crawford 14
Asts: Ricky Grace 7
Series tied at 1-1
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 13,221
Referees: Bill Mildenhall, Eddie Crouch

Game 3

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28 October
Brisbane Bullets 86, Perth Wildcats 109
Scoring by quarter: 22-27, 25-31, 13-22, 26-29
Pts: Derek Rucker 21
Rebs: Andre Moore 9
Asts: Derek Rucker 5
Pts: Ricky Grace 25
Rebs: Kendal Pinder 8
Asts: Grace, Ellis 7 each
Perth wins series and NBL Championship 2–1
Grand Final MVP: Ricky Grace (Perth)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Attendance: 13,159
Referees: Eddie Crouch, Bill Mildenhall

See also

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References

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