Bulla Recap: Melbourne United claim 2021 NBL Championship

2021 will forever be a season to remember for Melbourne United after claiming the NBL Championship, defeating the Perth Wildcats 3-0 in the Grand Final Series.

After a roller-coaster season that saw United make their Finals run on the road after the Victorian lockdown kept the team out of the state, they returned home for Game Three of the Grand Final Series and brought joy to the Melbourne faithful by claiming the Championship in front of a sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena on Friday night.

The first four minutes of the game belonged to Chris Goulding. The superstar sharpshooter came out hot from deep and the John Cain Arena crowd loved every second of it.

With Goulding draining three triples in the first four minutes of the game, Melbourne jumped out to a 12-point lead, 17-5, forcing Trevor Gleeson to call a timeout.

With Goulding creating havoc on the offensive end, United’s defence was doing the same on the other end.

Yudai Baba came into the game and injected his usual energy, while Mitch McCarron was in the thick of the action.

When Scotty Hopson drained a triple with just under three minutes to play in the first quarter, Melbourne’s lead had ballooned out to 16 points, 25-9.

An 8-0 Perth run, led by Luke Travers gave the Wildcats life late in the quarter and at the first break, United’s lead stood at nine points, 30-21.

As Melbourne attacked the basket, free throws resulted and that kept the scoreboard ticking over early in the second quarter, but Todd Blanchfield and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk answered for Perth.

A McCarron-led fastbreak, which ended with a beautiful Baba assist to Landale under the rim was the highlight of the second quarter as Landale’s furious dunk brought the Melbourne faithful to their feet.

Once again, the Wildcats answered through White and Mooney, but a late David Barlow triple kept United in the lead and at the main break, Melbourne’s lead stood at three points, 42-39. Landale (9 point and 5 rebounds) and Goulding (9 points) led the way for United, while Travers (7 points and 4 rebounds) and Mooney (6 points and 8 rebounds) were doing work for the Wildcats.

With the defence of both teams shining through in the early stages of the second half, it was Development Player Mason Peatling who stepped up and delivered some of the biggest buckets of his young professional career and the season for United.

After the Wildcats took the lead three minutes into the third term, Peatling scored twice in the paint, before getting a block on the other end and then nailing a big three-pointer halfway through the quarter to give Melbourne a one-point lead, 49-48.

It was a dominant two-minute patch of play by Peatling that kept United in the lead despite the Wildcats pushing hard.

With Melbourne holding a slender lead, it was Hopson who rose to the occasion in the final minute of the third term and brought the house down. First, he intercepted and slammed the ball on the other end for a loud dunk, then on the stroke of three-quarter time he delivered a massive triple that had the United fans in hysterics.

At the final break, United held a six-point lead, 58-52.

Baba hit a triple on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but Perth wouldn’t go away as Blanchfield and White kept the Wildcats in the game.

With United leading by four points, 68-64, with six and a half minutes left in the game, a scintillating stretch by Grand Final MVP Jock Landale gave Melbourne an eight-point buffer halfway through the term.

A Goulding triple heaped the pressure on Perth and a Peatling spin move with just three minutes remaining kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Perth stayed close though, and a Blanchfield three-pointer with 52 seconds on the clock cut United’s lead to just three points, 77-74.

With everything on the line, the ball found its way to Landale in the post and as he did all season long, he delivered. Landale scored via a jump shot as the shot clock expired to make it a five-point game, 79-74, with 37 seconds left to play.

United’s defence got the job down the stretch and a Baba dunk in the final seconds sent the celebrations into overdrive as Melbourne claimed the 2021 NBL Championship with an 81-76 win in Game Three.

Landale – who claimed Grand Final MVP honours – finished the game with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks in a fittingly dominant finish to a dominant series and season.

Goulding (14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists) got United off to a great start, while McCarron (7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 points), Peatling (12 points), Hopson (12 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds) and Baba (11 points) were all vital.

Mooney (14 points and 13 rebounds) and Blanchfield (11 points and 11 rebounds) fought all the way for Perth.