The two powerhouses will enter the Dunedin premier men’s final off the back of dominant displays.
For the fifth time in seven years, the St Kilda Saints will meet the Mid City Magic in the final.
The Magic has won the past five titles, although it is the Saints who will enter this one unbeaten.
They capped an impressive regular season with a 118-67 win over the Magic Lions in the final day of the top four round robin on Saturday.
Both teams were missing key players to the Otago under-23 team, although the Saints adapted better.
Tyler Lapham hit six three-pointers to top-score with 29 points, while James Ross and Lawson Morris-Whyte had 25 and 23 each in an utterly dominant display.
The Saints led 21-4 early on, Lapham’s ability to hit from deep doing damage early.
That effectively stamped out any hope the Lions had of sneaking into the final — needing to win by 26 or more to leap ahead of the Saints.
They shot out to a 32-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, before continuing to pile on the points to lead 61-25 at halftime.
Big man Max Pearce was the only Lions player to offer any real threat, finishing with 30 points.
The Magic won twice in three days to secure a spot in the final.
It trailed midway through the second quarter, but a strong finish helped it pull away to a 97-68 win over the Lions in Thursday’s deferred game.
Josh Reeves top-scored with 28 points, while NBL duo Richie Rodger and Josh Aitcheson were influential with 17 and 14 points respectively.
The Magic followed up with a similarly dominant 118-73 win over the City Rise Bombers.
Reeves hit 11 triples on the way to notching a 41-point display, while Rodger was classy in pouring in 31, showing his continued progress after a strong season with the Taranaki Airs.
Much like the Saints’ dominant start, the Magic tore away early, leading 37-16 at the end of the first quarter and 61-32 at halftime before wrapping up its spot in the final.
Nuggets guard Matthew Bardsley led the Bombers with 18 points, while fellow Nugget Robbie Coman added 15.
The Saints and the Magic advance to the final as the top two-placed teams under the league’s new format this year.
That was triggered by St Kilda entering a second team into A grade, making for a seven-team grade.
The traditional format of three full rounds followed by playoffs was replaced with two full rounds followed by a top four and bottom three round robin.
The Saints finished top of the top four with an unbeaten record, while the Magic won two of its three games to claim the second spot.
In the bottom three, the St Kilda Bullets have one more week to claim their first win, after being beaten 74-71 by Varsity.
