Otago Nuggets grab first title as they shade Manawatū Jets in thriller

Jordan Ngatai was having a brutal game for the Otago Nuggets in the Sal’s NBL Showdown Grand Final in Auckland on Saturday. And then the No1 overall pick in the draft stepped up and turned a horror show into a fairytale finish for the southerners.

The Nuggets, with a 79-77 victory over the Manawatū Jets, secured their first ever NBL title in a thrilling finale to the six-week post-Covid hybrid league that cropped up as a solution in a global pandemic, and became quite the success story.

For none more so than the Nuggets who weren’t even supposed to be playing NBL hoops in 2020, and hadn’t participated in the big league since their withdrawal in 2014.

But they came in a year ahead of schedule to make up numbers in Justin Nelson’s compromise, draft-dispersed league, and walk away with the silverware after a stellar campaign. The Nuggets did it the hard way but they deserved their success with a fifth straight victory for the event over the Jets.

Go to https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/300071896/sals-nbl-showdown-otago-nuggets-grab-first-title-as-they-shade-manawatu-jets-in-thriller to read more.