The Mount Gambier Pioneers are finals bound following the last round of the NBL1 South conference on the weekend.

The OneFortyOne Pioneers women returned victorious with two wins from their tough Melbourne double header road trip, while the Castec Rural Pioneers men split the difference, winning Saturday night’s match but falling short on Sunday.

Both sides clipped the wings of the Waverley Falcons on Friday night, while the women had a 22 point win over Eltham on Sunday and the men fell seven points short of the Wildcats.

The weekend’s results leapfrogged the OneFortyOne Pioneers into second position and therefore a home qualifying final, while the Castec Rural Pioneers finished in third spot, and will travel to Victoria for an away qualifying final.

The women finished the season with 17 wins and five losses, with the men chalked up 15 wins and seven losses.

The OneFortyOne Pioneers kicked off their weekend road trip with a hard fought win over the Waverley Falcons on Saturday night.

The opening five minutes of the first quarter was an arm wrestle, with the lead changing several times before the home team pushed out to an eight point lead with a minute left on the clock.

The Pioneers rallied to reduce the deficit, before a three pointer from captain Cass Brown just before the buzzer cut the lead to 24-20.

Waverley went on a 9-1 scoring run to open the second stanza, blowing their lead out to 12.

Mount Gambier fought back in the final five minutes of the quarter, holding the Falcons to just seven points while scoring 18 themselves.

The Pioneers held a slender one point lead at half time.

Mount Gambier hit the court in the third quarter with determination, going on a 10-3 scoring run to blow their lead out to eight, before Waverley charged to draw level with five minutes to play.

Long range shooting from Isabella Brancatisano and Sherrie Calleia helped the Pioneers regain the lead and take an eight point buffer into the final break.

The Falcons hit two consecutive three pointers to open the last quarter and then draw the score level at 61-all before reclaiming a two point lead.

The Pioneers did not take long to snatch the lead, before powering ahead to take the game 77-71.

Miela Goodchild top scored for the match with 20, with Brown chipping in 14 and Haliegh Reinoehl 11.

The Castec Rural Pioneers hit the court against the Falcons with plenty to play for, with Tom Kubank and Nick Marshall slamming down dunks to propel Mount Gambier to an early 8-0 lead.

After being stunned early, the Falcons regrouped and set about reining in the visitors, eventually levelling the scores with three minutes to play.

The Falcons then grabbed the lead and pushed ahead to be in front 25-20 at the first break.

The Pioneers rallied in the opening 90 seconds of the second quarter, drawing level with the home side and then pulling slightly ahead.

Two three pointers from Austin Shelley had Mount Gambier up by nine points before the Falcons reeled the lead back in to be down 38-42 at half time.

Waverley outscored the Pioneers 23-20 in the third quarter, with the lead changing multiple times before the Pioneers held a 62-61 lead at the final change.

The Pioneers streaked ahead to an 11 point lead as Titus Robinson, in his 50th game for the Pioneers, wowed the crowd with two dunks in the fourth quarter.

Waverley came at the visitors again to reduce the lead to five, before the Pioneers took the win 83-78.

Robinson top scored with 19 points, followed by Nick Marshall on 15 and Shelley, Jacob Lampkin and Kubank with 12.

On Sunday the OneFortyOne Pioneers took the court against the Eltham Wildcats without captain Brown, who was rested for the match.

Scores were level half way through the opening quarter, before Brancatisano hit a three to take the lead, followed by back to back threes from Goodchild to see a 26-16 lead at the first change.

The Pioneers put their foot down in the third, with long range shooting from Goodchild, Calleia, Brancatisano and 50-gamer Keryl Ousey pushing the visitors out to a 54-35 lead at half time.

The Wildcats outscored the Pioneers 24-20 in the third quarter, but were still down 59-74 at the last break.

Eltham got back to within 12 points half way through the final quarter, however the Pioneers stepped it up a notch and jumped out to a 92-70 win.

Head coach Matt Sutton took the opportunity to rest a couple of the senior players in the last stages of play, bringing local youngsters Cara Nulty and Tenielle Human onto the court.

Reinoehl top scored for the match with 25, with Brancatisano contributing 20 and Goodchild 19.

The Castec Rural Pioneers took the court against Eltham for their last 2023 season home and away match with a win required to secure a home final.

The Pioneers steamed ahead to a 10 point lead with three minutes left to play in the opening stanza, but the Wildcats had other ideas, cutting the lead to three at the quarter break.

Eltham pushed hard in the first five minutes of the second, levelling scores at 38-all, before the sides traded baskets to go into the half time break with scores tied.

A 10-2 scoring run from the Wildcats in the first four minutes of the third was broken by two quick dunks from Robinson, but three three pointers from Dylan Marshall was not enough to regain the lead, with Eltham up 75-70 at the last break.

The Wildcats stretched their lead to 12 within four minutes in the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers contested hard to reduce the gap, but ran out of time, going down 88-95.

Nick Marshall led the scorers with 19 points, with brother Dylan and Will Mayfield on 16.

The weekend’s results mean the OneFortyOne Pioneers women will host a home final on Friday against Geelong United, while the Castec Rural Pioneers men will travel to take on Frankston on Saturday.