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The Wollongong ahm Hawks and the Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles will square off tonight in Game Two of their best-of-three National Basketball League Semi Final series at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre (AKA “The Swamp”), with both teams vying to join the Perth Wildcats in the 2010 NBL Grand Final series.

Perth last night earned the right to advance to the championship round after defeating the Gold Coast Blaze 82-78 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Game Two of their First Semi Final to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Either Wollongong or Townsville will now be the Wildcats’ opponents when the best-of-three Grand Final series tips-off on Friday 5 March.

The Hawks took a 1-0 series lead over Townsville when they scored an impressive 87-68 victory in Game One at the WIN Entertainment Centre last Friday night.  That leaves Wollongong needing just one more win to continue their remarkable season and advance to the Grand Final, while the Crocs must win tonight to avoid elimination.

Game Two sees the series move to Townsville where the Crocs have a 10-4 win-loss record this season.  In their two meetings with the Hawks at The Swamp in 2009/10, the Crocs have gone 1-1.  Wollongong won their opening clash there in a 93-69 Round Seven romp, before the Crocs bounced back in Round 17 to score a 73-59 win.  Overall this season, Wollongong won three of their four games against Townsville.

That season series win over Townsville proved crucial for the Hawks as it allowed them to take the coveted second place on the ladder and home-court advantage in the first round of the Finals after they finished in a three-way tie with the Crocs and Gold Coast at the end of the regular season.In the closest competition in NBL history, all three teams ended up with 16-12 records.

The Hawks have reached the NBL Grand Final series on two previous occasions.  Wollongong first advanced to the championship round in 2001.  They went on to win the championship for the first time in club history by defeating Townsville 2-1 in an engrossing series that affirmed the two teams as bitter rivals.  The Hawks advanced to the Grand Final again in 2005 only to be swept by the Sydney Kings, but the Crocs have never made it back to the title decider since 2001.

Overall the Hawks have historically had a slight advantage on Townsville.  Wollongong are 37-22 all-time against the Crocs, and also lead 16-14 in games played in Townsville.  In their nine meetings in the post-season, the Hawks are an impressive 8-1 against the Crocs.  The Hawks have also won their past six straight playoff games against Townsville.