Bruce's Saints win New Zealand NBL championship

A dominant second-half performance has propelled Shaun Bruce's Wellington Saints to a thrilling 88–83 victory over the Southland Sharks in the 2025 NBL grand final on Sunday, securing their record-extending 13th National Basketball League championship.

The win marks the Saints’ first title since 2021 and a maiden championship for head coach Aaron Young, who had previously fallen short in three consecutive finals with the Auckland Tuatara before being lured to the capital by Saints general manager Jordan Mills.

Leading the charge for Wellington was Hyrum Harris (20 points, 14 rebounds and three assists), who delivered a monster performance with a game-high points tally and 14 rebounds, before hitting the final points of the game from the free throw line to make it a two-possession game with just four seconds to play.

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His play earned him grand final MVP honours.

His relentless energy and leadership were decisive in the Saints’ second-half surge, with most of the damage done in a 26-16 third quarter.

Bruce with an impressive cameo, hitting his 13-point tally in 16 minutes, going 5-8 from the field with two huge triples in the all-important third quarter, all leading to a game high +14 off the bench.

King #251 Izayah Le'afa also added 11 points, six assists and five rebounds in the victory.

Southland started strong, jumping to a seven-point lead early behind five first-quarter triples and held a 44–41 advantage at halftime. But the third quarter proved pivotal, as the Saints outscored the Sharks 26–16 to take control. 

Turnovers and offensive fouls began to plague Southland in the final period, allowing Wellington to stretch the lead to 13, but the orange army faithful in attendance, hopeful of a comeback as Keylan Boone (19 pts, 1 ast, 6 reb) caught fire late.

They rallied to cut the deficit to four, but Nick Marshall’s clutch offensive rebounds leading to clutch triples in the final minutes sealed the win for the Saints.