THE RACE TO WNBL FINALS
It’s the final round of the Cygnett WNBL regular season, and excitingly, six of the eight teams are still in contention to make Finals. Townsville Fire and Southside Flyers have secured a Finals berth, with the remaining four teams – Bendigo Spirit, Sydney Flames, Melbourne Boomers and Perth Lynx – battling it out for the final two spots. However, no ladder positions are yet locked in, and with five games being played this week, and an incredible 32 possible scenarios, we’re set for a cracking week of basketball!
With so much at stake, and some teams likely to finish on the same win-loss for the season, below is a breakdown of how ladder positions are determined in the WNBL. Put your thinking caps on for this one!
Ladder positions are first and foremost determined by win %.
Two-Way Tie – if a tie exists between two teams at the completion of the season, the winner of the three-game series between those two teams is given priority ranking.
Multiple Team Tie – if a tie exists between three or more teams, the results of all games played between the tied teams are used to determine the head-to-head split. If the head-to-head results between the multiple teams are still tied, then points differential is used to determine the split. (ie if all teams have a 3-3 head-to-head record)
The total points scored and allowed for each game is calculated for the teams involved in the tie. The team with the highest points for and against value will be given priority ranking. The team with the second highest points for and against value will be given the secondary ranking.
Example: Game One: A 50 – B 45 Game Two: B 60 – C 38 Game Three: C 45 – A 37 Team A: Game One (+5), Game Three (-8) = -3 Points
Two-Way Tie Persists – if a tie exists between two teams after using the multiple team tie, the winner of the series played by the two teams involved (head-to-head match-up) will be given priority ranking.
Based on the above, it is highly likely that final ladder positions won’t be determined until after the Townsville Fire vs Sydney Flames game on Sunday afternoon. As soon as positions are determined, the Finals schedule will be released.
The finals schedule is confirmed and is as follows:
The finals format will be 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 semi-final series, with the winner of each series to participate in the Grand Final. Semi Final and Grand Final Series will be played as a best of three (3) games, with the higher ranked team hosting games 1 and 3 (if required).
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