The Bendigo Braves' bid for their first NBL1 title fell short in Melbourne on Saturday night.
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The Braves went down to the Nunawading Spectres 99-90 in a high-quality championship game.
Nunawading's depth and outstanding three-point shooting proved to be the difference between the two teams.
The Braves' big three Ray Turner (24), Deonte Burton (24) and Mathiang Muo (23) scored 71 points between them.
Veteran Chris Hogan added 15 points and Jake Lloyd was the only other Brave to score.
In contrast, Nunawading had six players score nine or more points and the Spectres went 13-24 from behind the three-point arc.
The Braves, who came from eighth place on the ladder to qualify for the final, started the championship game in sensational fashion.
With Turner, Burton and Mathiang Muo in brilliant form, the Braves jumped to a 33-19 lead at quarter-time.
Nunawading didn't panic. The Spectres lifted their defensive intensity and started to find their shooting rhythm.
The Spectres outscored the Braves 34-20 in the second term to level the scores at 53 at the main break.
It was a similar story in the third term. The Braves offence stalled and the Spectres made some big shots from the perimeter.
It took a Chris Hogan three on the buzzer to keep the Braves within 10 points at three quarter-time.
The Spectres threatened to blow the Braves out of the water in the early stages of the final term.
They extended their lead to as many as 14 before the Braves mounted a spirited comeback.
An 8-0 run cut the Spectres lead to just six points with 4:35 to play.
The Spectres steadied, but three-point bombs from Hogan and Muo saw the Braves get within three points with 1:43 remaining.
Nunawading didn't crumble under the pressure.
Four-straight points extended the lead to seven points with one minute remaining.
When it mattered most down the stretch the Braves couldn't get defensive stops and the Spectres made several key buckets to seal the title.
Meanwhile, earlier in the night, the Kilsyth Cobras upstage Geelong Supercats to win the women's championship.
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