The Illawarra Hawks have won their second title in club history and first in 24 years after taking out the 2024-25 NBL Championship with a 114-104 victory over Melbourne United in Game 5 at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
After a tense series where neither team won on their home court in the first four games, it was the Hawks who bucked the trend to break the deadlock and secure a 3-2 series win in front of a sellout crowd of 5,686 fans.
Melbourne burst out of the blocks from the tip-off, racing to an early 20-10 lead, before the Hawks clawed their way back to tie the game at 26-all at quarter time.
The Illawarra side picked up where they left off in the second term, outscoring United 34-24 for a 60-50 lead going into the main break.
The Hawks maintained the advantage through the third quarter, with both teams scoring 22 points, leaving the Hawks to defend an 82-72 lead at the last break.
Melbourne rallied hard and cut the margin to five in the opening two minutes of the quarter, but the Hawks retaliated with a scoring run of their own, leaving Melbourne to play the foul game in the dying stages.
However, with the finishing line in sight, nothing was going to stop the Hawks from breaking a 24-year drought and ending Wollongong’s wait for a professional sports championship, as the team recorded a 10-point victory on their home floor
Trey Kell led the Hawks in scoring with 26 points on 9-14 shooting from the field, while fellow guard Will Hickey recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to fall just short of a triple-double in the biggest match of the season.
Meanwhile, for Melbourne, Chris Goulding led the scoring with 21 points, followed by Jack White with 17.
Addressing the crowd during the post-game presentation, Hawks coach Justin Tatum was full of praise for both the opposition and the fans which supported the team throughout the series.
“First I want to congratulate Dean Vickerman and Melbourne United, that was a hell of a series, it could have gone either way,” he said.
“That was a crazy series, games two and four [were] unbelievable for us, because we played and fed off of what you guys believed in, even the crowd that showed up in Melbourne, we heard you.
“All season long, we believed in ourselves, [and] we know you guys believed in us as well.
“This means so much, 24 years ago you didn’t celebrate it at home, today you are.”
Melbourne United veteran and former NBA Champion Matthew Dellavedova was announced as the Larry Sengstock MVP for the Championship series.
However, in a moment that will live in NBL folklore, Dellavedova made his way down from the stage to hand the MVP trophy to Hickey, declaring Hickey had deserved it more, to the rapturous applause of the Hawks faithful watching on from the floor and stands.
The Hawks’ win marks their first championship since 2001, and breaks a 15-year drought for Wollongong professional sports teams dating back to the Dragons’ NRL Premiership win in 2010.
Events to celebrate the team’s victory are expected to take place later this week, with dates and times yet to be confirmed.