Melbourne and Tasmania - Their last decider

Melbourne United and the Tasmania JackJumpers are set to contest a decisive Game 5 of their Championship Series on Sunday evening.

Although it’s the first time they’ve met in the season’s final matchup, Tasmania’s last gasp semi-final win in NBL22 will be fresh in the memory of the United faithful.

After a heavily fancied, top seeded Melbourne cruised to an 11-point win in the opening game of the series. Tasmania then defended home court in Game 2 to force a decider at John Cain Arena.

The JackJumpers were the competition’s newest addition who had only just scraped into the top four in the first place, and Melbourne entered their Game 3 clash as vastly superior favourites to head to its second straight Championship Series.

Before the game though, disaster struck.

Chris Goulding was an omission from Melbourne’s active roster just an hour before tip-off due to a calf injury, and the All-NBL Second Team nominee was an obvious absence for United in a game that was crying out for some high-level, clutch shooting.

Caleb Agada stepped into the starting lineup in lieu of Goulding, and Shea Ili took on the scoring load from the guard positions, while Jack White and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr stepped up in the paint.

That key absence came back to hurt United though, as the team hit a combined six of 29 three-point attempts across the game, and only hit 11 of 21 attempted free throws.

Where Melbourne’s shooting faltered, Tasmania’s flew – largely in part to the performances of superstar import guard Josh Adams.

Adams ended the game with 30 points and was one of just two JackJumpers to end the game in double-digit scoring, along with Jack McVeigh (16 points).

A third quarter blitz in which Melbourne scored only 14 points saw Tasmania enter the final term with a slender six-point lead, and they held on for a three-point win, with Adams hitting an incredible game-sealing three with barely a minute to spare.

The JackJumpers fell to a Championship Series sweep against the Sydney Kings that season, however much of the team remained for the NBL23 Finals push and this NBL24 Championship Series.

Josh Adams was replaced by Milton Doyle, while Jarred Bairstow, Fabijan Krslovic, Sean Macdonald, Will Magnay, Jack McVeigh and Clint Steindl are all still on the roster. Jarrad Weeks is also still with the club as an assistant coach.

NBA and overseas opportunities saw Melbourne’s side largely disband. Matthew Dellavedova headed to the Sacramento Kings, while Jack White gained an opportunity with the Denver Nuggets. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr headed to China.

Lual-Acuil Jr and Dellavedova have since returned to the NBL with United, and upon his re-signing, Delly stated a desire to rectify the NBL22 Playoff Series defeat.

Of that team, Chris Goulding, Ariel Hukporti, Shea Ili, Brad Newley and Zac Triplett remain, while David Barlow – like Weeks – is an assistant coach with his former side.

Although the cores of each side remain similar heading into the decisive game of this season’s Championship Series, it’s a new season and a new era for each.

The fifth and final game of the NBL24 Championship Series will tip off at 4pm AEDT on Sunday evening, live on ESPN via Kayo. Live coverage begins with the Coca-Cola Pre-Game Show from 3.30pm AEDT.