Sport
25 March, 2025
Delly named series MVP in finals loss
Matthew Dellavedova and Melbourne United have once again fallen agonisingly close in the NBL Grand Final series, losing the deciding game five 114-104 to the Illawarra Hawks.
While Dellavedova showed excellence on the court throughout the series, winning the Larry Sengstock Trophy for series MVP, his classiest moment happened during the presentations, handing his trophy to Hawks star guard Will Hickey, acknowledging his efforts in the series.
Three Dellavedova assists inside the first three minutes got the game off to a frantic start, with both teams feeding off the thunderous WIN Entertainment Centre crowd to be left tied at 26-26 at the end of the first quarter.
After Dellavedova scored his first points halfway through the second quarter, the Hawks started to pull away at the end of the second quarter, building a 10 point lead heading into the main break.
Determined not to repeat last season’s game five heartbreak, United came out firing in the third quarter, reducing the margin to four two and a half minutes into the second half.
The Hawks managed to regroup quickly, with Hickey and Trey Kell leading the way, while United went five minutes without a field goal as the margin went back up to 10 at the end of the third.
All hope wasn’t lost for United heading into the fourth, who have played some of their best basketball this finals series in the last quarter.
Despite cutting the deficit to five early in the fourth, United were unable to get any closer, as the Hawks held on to clinch their first NBL championship since 2001.
While he played superbly throughout the series, Dellavedova struggled in game five, finishing with five points from 33 percent shooting, two rebounds and a team-leading seven assists.
After a stellar series filled with moments of individual brilliance where he averaged 14 points, 6.2 assists and four rebounds, Dellavedova was awarded series MVP, the first time a player on the losing team has won the award since 1993.
The Illawarra crowd showed their disappointment that Hickey, who finished three votes behind Dellavedova, wasn’t deservedly awarded for his game four and five performances, where he averaged 21.5 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
As he came to the stage to accept the award, a distraught Dellavedova said “Davo, this really belongs to you,” before handing the trophy to Hickey who reluctantly accepted.
The NBL will quickly head into the free agency period on April 4, with Dellavedova currently one of the prized free agents potentially available.