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Two Australian and two NZ teams to contest 2010 Finals Series

Monday 21 June 2010, 8:16AM

By ANZ Championship

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For the first time in ANZ Championship history, next weekend’s two Semi-Finals will both be intra-country matches. This follows the Queensland Firebirds’ shock defeat by West Coast Fever in Perth this afternoon, which has guaranteed the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel a top-four finish, regardless of the result of their match against competition leaders, the NSW Swifts, in Sydney tomorrow night.

While the Firebirds went in to today’s match with the third highest percentage overall, they could afford nothing less than a win in order to secure the two points which would have levelled them with the fourth-placed Steel, keeping their Finals Series hopes alive.

After a shaky start, the Firebirds started to build momentum in the second quarter, and established a two-goal lead at half-time. However with nothing to lose, the unpredictable Fever managed to re-group and storm home to win 67-59, relegating the Firebirds to fifth place for a third consecutive year.

Today’s upset follows yesterday’s unexpected result, in which the First Windows Waikato / Bay of Plenty Magic convincingly beat the in-form Adelaide Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds will still finish in second position, guaranteeing them a double-chance at their second Grand Finals appearance. Their next assignment is to play the NSW Swifts in an all-Australian Semi-Final 1, to be held at Acer Arena on Sunday 27 June.

Meanwhile, Semi-Final 2 will be the ANZ Championship’s first ever Finals Series match contested between two New Zealand teams.

While it is now certain that the minor Semi-Final will be fought out between the WBOP Magic and the Steel, the host team will not be revealed until the final match of the home and away season, when the Steel meet the Swifts at Sydney Olympic Park on Monday night.

The Steel have a significantly higher percentage than the WBOP Magic, meaning that regardless of the margin, a win tomorrow night would elevate them to third place and the right to host their first ever Finals match in Invercargill next week.

However, with the Swifts looking to write their own piece of history by becoming the first team to remain undefeated for an entire ANZ Championship season, the Steel certainly have their work cut out.

Either way, tomorrow night’s match is guaranteed to deliver ANZ Championship at its absolute, thrilling best.

2010 Finals Series
Get up close and personal with the hottest game in town – to buy tickets and for all the latest on the ANZ Championship Finals Series, visit anz-championship.com.

If you can’t get to a match, catch all the action on Network Ten (TEN and ONE) in Australia and SKY Sport in New Zealand. 


· NSW Swifts to play Adelaide Thunderbirds in Semi-Final 1, to be held at Acer Arena on Sunday 27th June

· Semi-Final 2 to be played in New Zealand on Monday 28th June