Manly W. vs Central Coast Crusaders

Slazinski opened the final period with a three-pointer that he converted into a four-point play, putting Manly up by 14 — their biggest lead of the game. Then the game flipped.

Jamal Shoaib connected on a trio of three-pointers in the space of two minutes to drag Central Coast back within four. Dylan Tea followed with another triple to cut the deficit to one. Shoaib then completed a four-point play of his own on his fourth three of the quarter, levelling the scores at 65-65 with five minutes to play.

Tea gave the Crusaders their first lead of the second half with another three a minute later. Isaiah Lee responded for Manly, and Emmanuel Tshimanga scored back-to-back tough buckets inside to put the Sea Eagles back up three with under a minute remaining.

With the game on the line, Maker — who had been in foul trouble all afternoon — knocked down a three-pointer, his third made shot of the entire contest. Garric Young then scored the go-ahead bucket for Central Coast. Isaiah Lee's attempted winner at the buzzer was off target, and the Crusaders' travelling fans erupted.

Jamal Shoaib's four three-pointers in the space of less than three minutes of game time transformed a 14-point deficit into a tie game. Manly had controlled the first 31 minutes; Shoaib's 12-point outburst in under 180 seconds erased all of it. The Crusaders shot 6-of-11 from deep in the fourth quarter after going 0-of-12 through the first three.

Dylan Tea (Central Coast) — A game-high 25 points and five rebounds, including nine free throws and the three-pointer that gave the Crusaders their first second-half lead. NBL1 named him the standout performer of the night.

Jamal Shoaib (Central Coast) — 15 points on 4-of-6 from deep, all four threes arriving in a fourth-quarter scoring burst that single-handedly swung the game. His four-point play tied the scores at 65-65.

Quinn Slazinski (Manly Warringah) — A team-high 16 points and six rebounds, though he shot 5-of-21 from the field. His four-point play early in the fourth quarter pushed Manly's lead to 14 — the moment before the collapse.

Isaiah Lee (Manly Warringah) — 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds; his near triple-double was overshadowed by the missed game-winner at the buzzer.

Player of the match: Dylan Tea (Central Coast Crusaders) — 25 points, five rebounds, his free-throw accuracy (9/9 FT) and fourth-quarter poise carried the Crusaders home.

The Crusaders shot 32.3 per cent from the field for the game and still won. They overcame that by going 23-of-28 from the free-throw line (82.1 per cent) compared to Manly's 13-of-18 (72.2 per cent). The 10-make differential at the stripe effectively covered the two-point margin. Manly out-rebounded Central Coast 50-45 and shot 4-of-19 from three in the first three quarters, but Shoaib's 4-of-6 from deep in the fourth swung the three-point battle decisively. The Crusaders' 29-point fourth quarter was nearly as many as they managed in the entire first half (32 points across Q1-Q2).

Central Coast Crusaders — playing in their first NBL1 East finals campaign — advanced to the preliminary final against the Norths Bears on Saturday 8 August at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre. The Crusaders entered the playoffs having won seven of their last 10 regular-season games before knocking off the Centre of Excellence in the elimination final for the club's first-ever post-season victory.

For Manly Warringah, the season ends in heartbreak on home floor. The Sea Eagles finished fourth in the regular season, lost their qualifying final to Illawarra, and bowed out in the semi-final despite leading for the vast majority of this game. Manly's women won their semi-final earlier that same afternoon, defeating Newcastle 90-78.

• NBL1.com.au — Chris Pike, "East Finals | Crusaders ride momentum into prelim" (3 August 2026)
• Basketball.com.au — "Kids are alright: CoE holds off Lytle and Bandits at AIS" (2 August 2026)
• Betmana.co.uk match page — provider payload (API-Sports, fixture 506735)
• YouTube — NBL1 channel, "NBL1 Men | Manly Warringah vs. Central Coast - Game Highlights" (CmVCyspdCEU)

Central Coast's fourth-quarter shooting eruption — 6-of-11 from deep after 0-of-12 in the first three quarters — was one of the most dramatic single-quarter turnarounds of the NBL1 East finals. The Crusaders now carry genuine momentum into the preliminary final, while Manly will rue the 14-point lead they lost in a span of three minutes.