LW: Doley, what an afternoon it was at the Bendigo Stadium last Sunday as the Bendigo Spirit captured their second WNBL title in a row with their 11-point win over Townsville.
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It was a great advertisement for women's basketball with a free-flowing, high-scoring contest that was still anyone's game at three quarter-time.
It was certainly a game of momentum swings in front of a raucous Bendigo crowd.
Early it looked like the Spirit would canter to victory when they made all the running in the first quarter on the back of the brilliance of MVP Kelsey Griffin.
Yet in the third quarter the game looked to be swinging in the favour of the Fire - they didn't miss any of their first seven field goal attempts of the quarter.
But in the end, the Spirit were able to regain the ascendancy in the final quarter when they scored the first nine points to pull away for the 94-83 victory.
What about that scoreline, with the two sides combining for 177 points - that's like a footy team winning a grand final 24 goals to 20.
ND: Sensational effort by the Spirit on and off the court.
Must admit I was nervy at half-time and then early in the third quarter.
Then the Spirit showed just why they are the league's best team.
A brilliantly-coached team which keeps putting Bendigo to the fore.
LW: The other major sporting event last weekend was the Bendigo International Madison at the Tom Flood Sports Centre.
There was a home-town winner, but not the home-town winner most would have expected.
ND: Was one of the most memorable Bendigo International Madisons that I have had the privilege of writing about for the Addy.
A remarkable feat by Bendigo's Sam Crome and Dutchman Roy Pieters to take a lap by themselves at 27 laps to go and then answer every attack from there.
Crome and Pieters showed the underdog can triumph every now and again.
It's not so long ago Crome was watching cycling's stars racing for madison glory, now he has joined some of the sport's biggest names as a Bendigo International Madison winner.
Was rapt to hear Crome and Eaglehawk's triple world champion Glenn O'Shea were in the field for Thursday night's Tony McCaig Memorial Madison on the Bendigo track.
LW: Looking ahead to this weekend and it's finals time in both the Bendigo District and Emu Valley cricket associations.
In the BDCA, it's the same four teams as last year playing off - Golden Square, Bendigo United, Strathdale-Maristians and Eaglehawk.
I fancy top side Golden Square to get over the line against Eaglehawk in a tight one, while the Bendigo United-Strathdale clash is a genuine toss of the coin.
I'm leaning slightly towards your mob BUCCs, but it wouldn't surprise me if I'm wrong with both those tips, such is the evenness of the four teams.
ND: The predicted rain works in favour of those teams which finished higher on the ladder.
Here's hoping the clashes are not rain-affected too much. I'll go with Square and BUCCs to win.
LW: No surprise there that you've tipped BUCCs, Doley.
You'd tip them to beat the World XI.