The St Kilda Saints reached yet another Dunedin club final after beating the City Rise Bombers 95-77 in the major semifinal on Saturday.
Their opponent will be determined on Wednesday when the Bombers play the Magic, which beat the Andy Bay Falcons 96-79 in the minor semifinal.
St Kilda was supposed to be playing the 1 v 2 game against the Magic but the Magic had points deducted during the week for fielding unregistered players and slipped down to the 3 v 4 semifinal.
Up came the Bombers, who welcomed Chris Hepburn back from suspension to be at full strength.
The game ebbed and flowed as both teams used their big men to good effect inside, but the Saints built a small lead through superior shooting.
They were up 25-23 at the end of the first quarter and 56-48 at half-time.
James Ross was particularly impressive in his execution, finishing with a team-high 24 points for the Saints.
He was backed by Andrew Parke, Cain Falconer (both 14) and Matt Gillan (13).
Steve Robinson paced the Bombers with 26 points, while Peter Burgess scored 19 and Mark Bracewell 12.
In the early semifinal, the Magic had to adjust to the pressures of sudden-death basketball and did it well, brushing aside the Falcons.
The Magic got off to a slow start, letting the Falcons get settled early, but started to turn things around in the second quarter and pulled level at half-time.
National league player Sam To'omata's late arrival boosted the Magic's confidence as it won regular turnovers.
The Falcons, one of the top teams in the league at converting turnovers into points, struggled under the defensive pressure of the determined Magic.
Josh Kitson led the Magic with 29 points and Jordan Small had 19, while Daniel Peck (25) and Caleb Burgess (18) led the Falcons.
The Falcons have had a great season, including beating top qualifier St Kilda and winning and defending the Dunedin City Ford Trophy for half the season, so it was surprising to see it come to such a disappointing end.
The Falcons finished the regular season as top scorers but conceded nearly as many points as Otago Boys High School, which won five fewer games.
It was a slow start to the season for the Magic but it stormed home to finish comfortably in the top four, and it now prepares for the semifinal against the Bombers on Wednesday.
