High-school friends, old college peers and a veteran retiring have united the Canberra Gunners and Canberra Nationals ahead of the start of their finals campaigns on Saturday.
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The Gunners finished first at the end of the home-and-away NBL1 East season, and the last time they finished on top, they went on to win the competition.
One of those players making the difference is James Toohey, who is known as the "Minister of Defence" by teammates he has played alongside for years, including Glen Morison and Will Mayfield.
Toohey said those long-time friendships in the team helped the Gunners lose just two of 20 games this season.
They will take on their cross-town rivals the Centre of Excellence in the first final, with a win to seal their sport in a preliminary final and a loss sending them into sudden-death action.
The fact they're in the finals continues a remarkable turnaround in recent years. Six years ago the Gunners lost every match. But they bounced back to win the title in 2022 and then made a preliminary final last year.
"In Canberra, we now get used to making the finals, but for a long time, Canberra was pretty bad compared to the competition," Toohey said.
"I've played with Glen [Morison] since I was a kid and I met Will [Mayfield] at the end of my high school career.
"I just know what they do, what their tendencies are, where they like the ball, and we're just in sync.
"This team plays around Glen [Morison] and it works. I get those steals, get those blocks and am solid in defence because we have those guys that can score easily."
The Canberra Nationals made the finals on very different circumstances to the Gunners, winning four out of their last five matches to finish ninth.
However, eighth-placed team Centre of Excellence had to withdraw from the competition as they could not field a team, seeing the Nationals sneak into the play-offs.
The Nationals will take on the fifth-placed Sutherland Sharks in an elimination final in Sydney on Saturday evening, with a spot in the second round of finals up for grabs.
New signing, Amelia Motz, has been instrumental in their quest to win a trophy for the first time in 13 years.
The forward joined the Nationals last month after connecting with her old college friend and Canberra Nationals forward, Nikki Warner.
Now, Motz is coming second for rebounds and blocks as well as third for scoring, assisting and stealing for the Canberran side.
"Amelia was like a spark that the whole team needed. That's what sport does. It brings people together," Warner said.
"Amelia and I met in college. She reached out earlier in the season, wanting to come play in Australia.
"I said 'let's do it', and eventually she got here which was amazing.
"It was really good timing as well because we had a bunch of injuries and especially in the forward space."
Unlike Motz, who is beginning her dominance for the Nationals, for 30-year-old Maddison Penn, this could be her final game before retiring.
Penn has played alongside Opals players and with NCAA teams, and said that she is not putting pressure on herself in the last moments of her career.
"I've had three spinal surgeries so I'm not playing like I would want to, but that's ok. I'm just thankful to be here," she said.
"I'm geared towards joy and having fun. We know that we've got nothing to lose."
Rather than the Gunners being the team to beat in the women's competition, it is Opals star Lauren Jackson's Albury team that finished on top of the ladder.
Although the Nationals lost by 48 points to them, Warner who had always idolised the 43-year-old veteran described how playing Jackson was a team bonding moment.
"During our game, she dropped 50 points and we lost by [almost] 50," she said.
"But, the girls were super stoked to play against her, and not only is she a great basketball player. But the girls were going up and getting photos with her after the game.
"To build those connections with my idol was really fun."
