It was a sea of green and black at the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna South, Victoria last Saturday night as the Castec Rural Mount Gambier Pioneers chased NBL1 South glory in the eagerly awaited grand final against the Hobart Chargers.

Pioneers’ fans travelled over five hours to hope to see the Mount Gambier team coached by Richard Hill secure the South Conference flag.

Nick Marshall made the crowd roar when he scored the first two points of the game and this was followed by an even bigger reaction from Michael Harris’ three pointer.

With Clevon Brown also completing a slam dunk, it appeared the Pioneers may have had the game in the bag as they entered the quarter time break with a 10-point lead.

But the second quarter changed everything as former Pioneer Sam McDaniel started the Chargers’ fightback with a three pointer which erupted the Hobart bench with cheers, but the Pioneers still felt comfortable with a seven-point lead.

The Chargers caught up to the Pioneers quickly as failed three-point attempts from Harris, Marshall, Tom Kubank and Erik Burdon hurt, while McDaniel turned up the heat with a slam dunk.

McDaniel also shot well from beyond the three point line, while Jacob Richards also joined the party from beyond the arc.

At half-time, the tension filled in the Pioneers side of the centre as a two-pointer from Jordan Rawls left the side 35-29 down Chargers’ way.

After being dominated the second term, the Pioneers needed a spark and Marshall put the energy back into his team and the fans with a three-point shot to kick off the third quarter.

But this was instantly followed by a response from stand-out player of the game, McDaniel.

Kubank and Harris had repeated attempts to even up the score, but the ball could not even grace the ring at times.

Hill kept subbing in and out players as much as possible to give the boys a rest, but nothing slowed Hobart with Jarred Bairstow and McDaniel’s shooting exploits pushing Mount Gambier 12 points back four minutes into the quarter despite Marshall’s two successful three-point shots late in the third term.

The Pioneers struggled to wrestle back momentum in the fourth quarter as McDaniel got himself another eight points.

Kyle Tipene came on at the end and sunk a three-pointer in the final minutes while Toby de Wit also made it to the floor.

Nothing could stop Hobart from securing a commanding 78-62 win in the championship decider.

The Chargers will now play in the national finals against the Rockingham Flames, Gold Coast Rollers, Canberra Gunners, South Adelaide Panthers and wildcard winners Frankston Blues.

Even though the Pioneers walked away with a loss, the players and fans were up until the early hours of Sunday morning with anticipation for the 2023 season.