JOONDALUP Wolves big man Rob Huntington celebrates his 150th SBL appearance in Saturday night's Grand Final against the Cockburn Cougars and he's hoping for some more fond memories at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Huntington had a tremendous Grand Final last year for the Wolves as they beat the South West Slammers delivering 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists including three triples to win a championship. Now the 25-year-old has backed up with another strong 2016 season.

He has averaged 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds throughout the year to be a big factor in the defending champions booking a spot in Saturday night's Grand Final against the Cougars at Bendat Basketball Centre with the Wolves shooting for back-to-back championships for the first time.

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Huntington is now looking forward to Saturday night's decider against the Cougars and while he did play well in last year's Grand Final, the fond memories he has are of being able to celebrate and enjoy the experience with his teammates as they return to Bendat Basketball Centre.

"To be honest I can't really remember how I played. What I do remember is sitting on the bench and looking down the court and seeing all the other guys on the floor and I remember watching Trian give his speech after winning Grand Final MVP," Huntington said.

"I remember my teammates more than anything but it's a nice feeling knowing they are here next to me again for another Grand Final. It's also good to know that this floor has been kind to us and we've had some good games here and we play well here. We plan to do that again."

Huntington will also celebrate his 150th appearance for the Wolfpack in the Grand Final and despite having already won a championship and several of his teammates having played in the titles of 2011 and 2015, there is no lack of hunger.

There is Reece Maxwell who is yet to taste a championship as well and Huntington has no doubt they are as hungry as ever and that's because of how close of a group they are.

"The hunger is definitely there. Because we are such a tight group we want Maxy to experience that as well but you don’t play all season long to come to a Grand Final and lose. We want to win," he said.

"This team is the most fun I've ever had playing basketball. I came back and was lucky enough to be part of the group and I don’t think I've missed a game these last three seasons.

"Running up and down on a Tuesday and Thursday night, and driving to practice when it's raining you know you are going to get to have fun with these guys every single time you step onto the floor.

"That's part of having such a talented group but also such a good group of guys who you want to be around all the time too."

Coming off winning the 2015 championship, the Wolves looked to bolster their stocks with the signing of a second import Bobby Evans and return of Perth Wildcats championship winner and 2011 Grand Final MVP Greg Hire.

However, for different reasons neither worked out and Huntington actually believes going back to a similar group to the one that won last year's championship might have actually helped.

And given that includes big men Kevin Davis and Damian Matacz along with himself, the lethal Seb Salinas and Trian Iliadis, returning Maxwell and Rhys Smyth and the more than handy Joel Questel, Jordan Wellsteed and Sean Easther it's hard to argue.

"When we went back to our original group it actually felt like nothing had really changed. While those couple of guys would have been good to have, we are still a tight-knit group and we still get things done and get through things as we would have anyway," Huntington said.

"Having us three bigs all the time is great. We were unfortunate to lose Bobby earlier in the season but Damo is such a quality guy, and he gives us as much off the court as he does on it and I've learned so much from him.

"The game against Willetton that we dropped was actually one when we didn’t rebound as well as we should have so us bigs need to do our job by getting the boards. It's nice to have the rotation that we have with the three of us."

As Huntington now prepares to bring up 150 games with the Wolfpack, he can't help but reflect on the entire group he is part of that he couldn’t imagine being any better starting from coaches Ben Ettridge and Luke Brennan down to all his teammates.

"I've just been really lucky to be part of this group. I know I've said it before, but you play in basketball teams and under coaches, and you can get into a grind where basketball can become tough to turn up to practice and games," he said.

"But just being part of this group and having Ben and Luke as coaches is excellent, but they are just as excellent people as coaches. You want to chat to them and hang around with them because we all get along so well on and off the basketball court.

"I'm lucky to play under them and to have also played under Craig Friday when I first came in. This group of guys is just special and my journey has come to a point where I'm having the most fun and enjoying basketball more than I ever have. That's because of the guys I'm playing next to."

The Wolves had to give their all to get by the Willetton Tigers in the semi-final series and now the challenge is the Cougars in the Grand Final who finished the season as minor premiers after beating the Wolfpack in the final game of the regular season.

Huntington has no doubt that if the Wolves are to win a second straight championship they will have to earn it.

"Like Willo, they are a great well-rounded team and have plenty of weapons who can fire on any given night. They've got the bigs to board and the guards to pile the points on so it's going to be a tough challenge," he said.

"You come into the Grand Final knowing we will get their best swing and we will give ours back, and see who comes out on top.

"It's unfortunate that Gavin Field did have the injury he's had because he's a good friend of mine and he is one of the best Aussies in the league. It would have been a good battle but you can't control injuries so it's a bit sad for him but at least he's already won a championship."

The chance to win back-to-back championships is an exciting thought for Huntington to think about achieving but given how good a team the Cougars are he isn’t taking anything for granted that it's a given to happen.

"The quality of the teams in the SBL this year has been outstanding and I think everybody put together some awesome squads that on any given night could beat anybody," Huntington said.

"Cockburn finished on top because they were the most consistently good team and now it's good knowing we can go and try to hit that No. 1 spot by playing them in the Grand Final. As defending champions we've got everyone's best every game and they are going to get our best now on Saturday night.

"With this group we talk about continued success and trying to leave a legacy and we've got some pretty experienced guys on this team now.

"For us it's about winning the game as trying to build on our success and the club, and making it a place where everybody wants to come and play basketball. Winning back-to-back is a pretty special thing and to do it with these guys would be awesome."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography