The WNBL finals have been thrown into chaos after a COVID outbreak forced the postponement of game two of the semi-final series between the UC Capitals and Perth Lynx.
The Capitals were scheduled to host the Lynx in Canberra on Sunday with the winner of the best-of-three series due to face the Melbourne Boomers in the championship decider starting on Saturday April 2 at the Melbourne Sports Centres in Parkville.
But the league announced hours before tip-off that a number of positive cases had been detected in Canberra’s camp, along with other players who were symptomatic and awaiting test results.
Due to ACT Government COVID guidelines, affected athletes cannot leave isolation until they produce a negative PCR test, leaving the Capitals unable to field the seven players required to hold the game.
Shortly after the postponement was announced, the league advised that the Lynx-Capitals series would revert to a best-of-two series with the winner determined by a points spread over the two games as per FIBA rules.
With the Lynx winning the opening game of the series 91-77 in Perth on Thursday, the Capitals need to win game two by 15 points in order to qualify for their 12th WNBL grand final.
Melbourne punched their ticket to the championship round after completing a 2-0 series sweep over the Adelaide Lightning with a 61-49 victory in Saturday’s game two in Adelaide.
The Boomers produced a crushing second-half revival in Thursday’s series opener in Melbourne, outscoring the Lightning 63-17 after halftime to complete an emphatic 95-64 comeback victory.
The dynamic play of Lindsay Allen (24 points, seven rebounds, five assists) helped inspire the Boomers in game one and the American point guard repeated the dose in game two with a team-high 15 points to help seal the victory.
Opals duo Alanna Smith and Steph Talbot battled valiantly for Adelaide but Melbourne’s depth proved too much for the Lightning to contain as Tiffany Mitchell, Ezi Magbegor, Tess Madgen and Cayla George combined to guide the Boomers to their first grand final since 2017-18.
The result rewards outgoing head coach Guy Molloy with one final opportunity to win the club’s second WNBL championship with his nine-year tenure coming to a close at the end of the season.
“I mean it’s pretty special … Adelaide knocked us out of the semis a few years back with a 2-0 result so it was pretty nice to come and get 2-0 our way in this series,” Molloy said after Melbourne’s game two success.
“I don’t know who we play yet. It’s going to be a great opponent either way, but I’m really glad that we’ve got a week to recover and prepare for whoever it may be.”
AAP
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