It has been a long journey to the promised land but the Tasmania JackJumpers have continued their underdog story to march onwards to the NBL grand final series.
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It's been a long road for Tasmania.
Prior to the start of the season, coach Scott Roth was mentally and physically exhausted from building the NBL's newest side from scratch.
"The first thing that ran through my mind was obviously my wife and daughter back home who are up in the middle of the night during these last two or three weeks watching every moment and texting me after the game," he said.
"I had a little quick FaceTime with them on the floor which was incredible and I wouldn't be here without them, they saved me when I was ready to pack it in here."
Barely a player, coaching staff member or, in his own words during the season, the office furniture, was picked without Roth being part of the process. Still, the external expectation was for the JackJumpers to be at the foot of the league table.
"When you're away from your wife for 14 months and your daughter for 18 months [it's hard]," Roth confessed post-game.
"The last month before the Blitz started it was getting difficult for me just mentally to see if I'd ever actually get home to see them.
"The last game after Cairns and the Blitz I drove back from Launceston to Hobart and I was basically done."
Over the course of the two and a half-hour car ride, Roth contemplated going to the airport and heading back to his homeland. The fate of the state balanced against the needs of his family.
Eventually, Roth stayed to lead the JackJumpers into their NBL debut.
"I never thought I'd be here for almost two years and never be home to see a brand new house I've built, I've never seen or walked in and I've missed a lot of different things," he said.
"My wife and daughter, they kind of saved me and to me mentally back to where I should be and ever since then it's been incredibly."
Now, he will lead the program that he built into the NBL grand final series for the first time ever in their debut campaign.
MATCH REPORT
The Tasmania JackJumpers have made their first-ever grand finals series after defeating Melbourne United on the reigning premiers' home court 76-73.
Josh Adams (30 points) was the star as the JackJumpers' high-octane import put the NBL's newest side on his back to secure Tasmania's first grand final appearance since Launceston Casino City won the title in 1981.
"Our guys were pretty tough, just incredible effort for our group to defend the island again and impact the state like these guys have done it's just a fantastic thing for the group," coach Scott Roth said.
"We're blessed to be in this position and humbled."
Despite Goulding's absence, United opened up to a five-point run in a spritely start.
The JackJumpers fought back and levelled the score through Jarred Bairstow and ascended to the lead via Sam McDaniel laying up and heading to the line.
United produced the highest-scoring first quarter of any side in the NBL finals series as they enjoyed the faster tempo.
The JackJumpers punched above their weight across the offensive glass, but their missing radar from deep early on and United's ability to put together scoring chains on the other end had the reigning premiers ahead at the first break.
It took Adams a quarter and a half to notch his first points of the game but the American quickly became the JackJumpers' leading scorer as he took them into the lead as half-time approached.
Adams' willingness to put away the three-ball for a bit, alongside Jack McVeigh (16 points), and drive into the paint helped the JackJumpers to go in level at the main break as they outscored United 19-15 in the term.
"[Adams] just came out on fire in the second half and we continued to go to him and that's why he is here," Roth said.
"He got level-headed again and got back to what we needed to be doing and made big play after big play for us."
That came on the back of United being unable to complete their sets in the second term as they searched for Jo Lual-Acuil (16 points) and Ariel Hukporti in the paint and experienced turnovers on their entry passes.
The teams found themselves in uncharted waters to start the third term given neither side had been level at the main break all season but either side had a chance of winning.
Matthew Dellavedova and Co. struggled to fill Goulding's shoes from the three-point zone as the JackJumpers chose to pack the paint around Lual-Acuil. Conversely, Adams proved a hot hand with two long-range bombs to move Tasmania to a critical lead by the end of the third term.
Ultimately, the JackJumpers' three periods of out-scoring the home side proved a mountain too great to overcome, especially after Adams and Josh Magette (seven assists) dropped daggers from deep in the dying embers of the game.
The JackJumpers will play the Sydney Kings in the NBL grand finals series which begins on Friday, May 6 in Sydney with game two in Hobart.
Despite seeing success as a Perth Wildcat alongside Roth, captain Clint Steindl never thought he'd leading the new franchise to the grand final series.
"There definitely wasn't a focus on this, a lot of our talks and focus was built around building a sustainable future and sustainable culture where it may take three or four years to put that foundation in," he said.
"We knew as a group we may not get the reward straightaway but we knew maybe five or 10 years down the track the guys that followed us would compete for championships.
"But this group has just said stuff that let's try and do it straightaway and I guess if you've seen the work we've put in and the changes we've made but the one thing that hasn't changed is the determination to play for each other and invest in each other."
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