Hoops Capital stars ready for NBL1 finals action

This weekend, numerous Hoops Capital stars will start their finals campaigns with their respective NBL1 outfits.

In NSW, the North Bears, coached by Renae Garlepp and featuring Flames' Carla Pitman and Caitlyn Martin, are chasing their second women's championship in three seasons.

In week one of the finals, Norths will host reigning champions Newcastle in the qualifying final on Saturday.

Upon reflecting on her side's season to date, Flame #224 Pitman is happy with the team's progress but knows the work isn't done yet.

"Our team's success [during the regular season] came from a combination of factors," said Pitman.

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"Our team had clear offensive and defensive systems that everyone bought into, and our team's chemistry has been really strong throughout the whole season.

"Our team has a great spread of scorers -different players have stepped up and had great games when we needed them.

"Which means we haven't had to rely on any one person to win us a game, which I think has been really successful for us.

"Now, heading into the finals, we need to focus on executing well on both ends of the floor and, most importantly, continue to stay disciplined.

"Staying composed under pressure and continuing to have trust in our teammates will be key for us.

"If we can do all of that, we'll be in a great position to bring home the championship."

Echoing Pitman's sentiments is Agnes Emma-Nnopu, whose Knox Raiders will host Dandenong in Saturday’s qualifying final at the State Basketball Centre.

"[To date] our depth has been a major key to our success," Emma-Nnopu said.

"On any given night, we have so many different players coming off the bench and making an impact.

"That kind of versatility is really tough to guard, as teams might be able to take away one option, but we have so many others ready to step up.

"[So looking ahead] the biggest thing for our team is sticking together and continuing to play the way we have all season.

"Just because it’s finals, doesn’t mean we need to do anything drastic or try to hit home runs.

"We just need to stay true to our style of play, stay locked in, and fine-tune the little things."

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Also lining up for Knox this weekend will be King #249 Keli Leaupepe, whose men's side will host Eltham from 8pm AEST on Saturday.

Finally, in arguably the biggest game of the weekend, the Sutherland Sharks, coached by Shaun Roger and featuring Kouat Noi and Jason Spurgin, will travel to Bankstown on Saturday to battle Jaylin Galloway's Bruins.

Reigning NBL Six Man of the Year Noi is confident his side not only has what is takes to win in their elimination final but also make a deep NBL1 East finals run.

"We have players on this team who have won championships before, so we know how important it is to keep winning games and learning from our losses during the season to be well prepared for post-season," King #237 Noi said.

"[It's important] we make the most of each moment - if we do that, we will get the most out of each practice leading into the championship games."