Sharks to play in first ever home final

The SBS Bank Southland Sharks will play in a home Grand Final in Invercargill for the first time in their 17-year history after travelling to Christchurch and earning an 84-74 semifinal victory over the Canterbury Rams tonight.

Southland has previously earnt three national titles in 2013 and 2015 under coach Paul Henare and in 2018 with Judd Flavell in charge. Those victories were all achieved on the road in Hawke’s Bay (2013) and Wellington (2015 and 2018) when the NBL Finals were awarded to a single venue annually.

For the past two seasons, finals have been played based on finishing order on the Sal’s NBL Ladder with the fourth-seeded Saints emphatic victory over the top seeds, the Auckland Tuatara on Saturday afternoon meaning the Sharks and Rams were playing off today for hosting rights.

The Sharks will head to their second consecutive Grand Final on the back of a hard fought win which saw the Sharks jump out to a 17-point lead early in the second before the Rams clawed their way back into the contest to level the game three minutes into the third and head into the last period knotted at 63-63. Eight fourth quarter points for Caleb Asberry who finished with a game high 26, along with some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, saw the Sharks slowly inch away and ultimately finish with a double figure lead following a late Asberry dunk.

The closest the Sharks had previously came to a home Grand Final appearance was in 2016 when Invercargill hosted the NZNBL Finals series.

The Sharks pushed a Saints team that included former Sharks Tai Wesley and Shea Ili and NBA player Torrey Craig all the way in their semifinal before losing 79-75. Wellington, who were also coached by Sharks’ legend Kevin Braswell, went on to claim the title the following night with a 94-82 win over the Super City Rangers.

The 2026 Sal’s NBL Grand Final will feature a rematch of last year’s finale with the Wellington Saints riding high after defeating the Sharks in Wellington in the last round of the regular season, before dispatching the Tuatara on their home floor by 43 points in their semifinal clash on Saturday afternoon.

Tickets for the 2026 Grand Final on Sunday 9 August are now on sale at sharksbasketball.flicket.co.nz or at ILT Stadium Southland reception from 8am Monday with the game scheduled to tip off on Sunday at 3pm. Doors will open at 2:00pm.