Geraldton Buccaneers pip the Willetton Tigers by one point to book a home preliminary final

Geraldton Buccaneers are one home win away from a second consecutive NBL1 West grand final appearance after a thrilling one-point win against the Willetton Tigers on Saturday.

Zac Gattorna bookended a dramatic qualifying final as his opening burst and free throw at the death got the Buccs over the line.

There was a suggestion that in the last game between these sides in the final round of the NBl1West season both teams would play their cards close to their chest ahead of a finals meeting.

However, Saturday night saw those cards laid firmly on the table as the Buccs claimed an 87-86 victory in front of a sell-out crowd, who were sitting on the edge of their seats for most of the game.

The Buccs have won every game at Activewest Stadium this year and were desperate to earn the right to host the preliminary final in their quest for back-to-back grand final appearances.

They took the court with the same starting five that got them the win last weekend while the Tigers welcomed back Mark Worthington but started him on the bench.

The Tigers got the first six points but the Buccs, led by Gattorna with 12 first-quarter points, were the stronger team in the opening stint.

But the Tigers clawed back as Gorjak Gak and Damien Scott combined for 21 points with a Scott lay-up right on the halftime buzzer giving them a one-point lead.

There was nothing to split the sides in the third, with both working overtime on defence and both shooting below 15 per cent from beyond the arc with no easy baskets on offer.

But it looked like the Buccs made a decisive mood in the fourth with the first seven points.

The teams traded baskets but Geraldton still led by four until Worthington continued to show why his comeback season was a good idea by hitting a huge corner three to bring Willetton back within a point.

Stewart found Liam Hunt under the bucket with a beautiful pass up the other end to restore Geraldton’s three-point lead, but then Darnell Hoskins Jr who had made just 1-8 from the three-point line hit a massive to tie the scores up with 20 seconds remaining.

The Buccs called the time-out but had control of the ball meaning at the very least they could force overtime if there was not a shot going.

Malik Meunier ran down the clock before offloading to Gattorna who set off for a final drive and forced a foul from Hoskins sending him to the line with four seconds to go.

He made the first before the second rimmed out but Willetton with only four seconds left could not get the shot-off.

But in a game of twists and turns there was still one last piece of drama with the players being called back out after the shot clock went off 0.1-second early delaying celebrations by a couple minutes.

Gattorna was tremendous in the win for Geraldton with 27 points, five rebounds and two assists on shooting 6/12 from the floor, 3/6 from behind the three-point arc and 12/16 from the foul line.

Liam Hunt added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Buccaneers, Shaun Stewart 12 points and while Meunier had a quiet scoring night he did plenty of work with a time high nine assists, four steals and eight rebounds.

Geraldton will host either the Perry Lakes Hawks or Perth Redbacks — having not lost at home since July 23 last year — this Saturday, with the Hawks and Redbacks playing on Thursday night.