Image credit: Michael Farnell (Sports Imagery)
In all three of the NBL1 West championships Mat Wundenberg has won with Geraldton Buccaneers there has been no shortage of motivation, but doing it for their town who arrived in droves at RAC Arena make it extra special.
Going back to 2019 when Wundenberg was championship captain with the Buccs winning a second championship and a first since 2000, it was a breakthrough after years and years of toil throughout his career that started in 2004.
Then in 2023, the motivation was quite simply to make up for the pain of losing 12 months earlier in the Grand Final after they had led most of the way before being overrun by the Rockingham Flames.
Then coming into the 2025 Grand Final and Wundenberg and everyone at the Buccs had that burning desire of the losing preliminary final from the year before after they had finished the regular season four games clear in top spot that denied them playing in the first ever decider at RAC Arena.
They once again made up for all of that on Saturday night with a performance full of grit to beat the Warwick Senators and for Wundenberg to earn a third championship ring in his remarkable 544-game playing career.
The home crowd environment that the Buccs always have at Active West Stadium is unlike anything anywhere in the country for NBL1.
It gives them a remarkable home court advantage just the way the people of Geraldton support their team, and they sure did travel in big numbers to Perth for the Grand Final at RAC Arena on Saturday night.
There were more than a thousand fans who made the trip from Geraldton and Wundenberg cherished having each and every one of them there for the occasion.
"In our whole preparation for the game we treated it like we were playing at home because we knew how many people from Geraldton had come down here with us for the game," Wundenberg said.
"We had a few of our support staff come to shootaround too and we treated it as much like a home game as we could, and not to let such an unbelievable stadium and even overawe us.
"It's unreal to have the following that we do in Geraldton and even all the local footy teams or softball or basketball clubs in Geraldton, all this week they were supporting us and they were televising the game from their club rooms or functions.
"It's just unreal and it honestly is what keeps you playing knowing you have the support from the whole community and knowing they are all so behind you all the way."
Learning from first finals loss
The big difference for the Buccaneers in 2025 from 2024 was that they did have a poor performance in the finals in both years, but this time around they had the opportunity to make up for it.
Last year after dominating the regular season and then beating the Mandurah Magic at home in the qualifying final, they remained in Geraldton for the preliminary final but were beaten at their own game in a lot of ways by the Willetton Tigers.
Then to start this year's finals series, it was the Senators who blew them away 63 points to 36 in the second half in Geraldton in the qualifying final, but this time the Buccaneers had a chance for redemption.
They beat the Goldfields Giants and Willetton the next weekend to reach the Grand Final, and then held a Warwick team who had been averaging 109 points all season to 78 on Saturday night to claim the championship.
"I wouldn’t quite call it a kick up the bum, it just made us realise that even as experienced as we are, that you have to turn it up a notch come finals basketball," Wundenberg said.
"To play Warwick first up and to get outplayed the way we did at home, it was just a reminder to the group how switched and focused, and the attention to detail you need to be to win those games.
"I wouldn’t say it helped us necessarily, but you'd rather it happen in the first week than the second week so you do get the chance to come back from it."
Savouring the special feeling
It's impossible to compare championships and given it had been a 19-year drought, the 2019 breakthrough will always be special and then in 2023 it meant a lot because of the heartbreak the Buccaneers suffered in 2022.
But for the grizzled veterans Wundenberg, Aaron Ralph and Liam Hunt who have been there for all three championships and have a combined 1177 games between them, they know this can't last forever so cherishing this one is important.
"Obviously it takes a lot of hard work to get to this point, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and it's well documented that we fell short last year after having such a dominant regular season," Wundenberg said.
"So you just have a tough mindset and they all have their own merit, but this one was one where just had to grind, grind and grind to get there.
"And Warwick had an opportunity, but I like to give credit to our guards and our game plan to defend their offence. It just felt like we couldn’t put them away but we had our chances and took them enough in the end.
"The emotions are still pretty raw right now but I'm just super happy for the group and to be able to grind out a win like that was so satisfying."
Remarkably consistent as contenders
Going back to 2004 when Wundenberg started his career with the Buccaneers and up to 2025, they have amassed a 349-167 regular season record in that time for a 68 per cent winning ratio.
They have now won championships in 2019, 2023 and 2025, and also reached Grand Finals in 2014 and 2022, and have only missed the playoffs three times across those 21 seasons.
That remarkable consistency to put themselves in position to contend for championships year after year is something that Wundenberg is rightfully tremendously proud of.
"We have been such a strong club and we might not have always got the results we might have been hoping for or even deserved, but that just makes you appreciate how tough they are to win," Wundenberg said.
"They really are tough and as strong as we've been for most of my career, you do need a bit of luck, you have to be fine-tuned and you need to have a lot of things go your way in terms of the preparation and game styles, and all that.
"Each of them are on their own merit, but this one feels so sweet and to do it with some of your mates makes it all that more special.
"We just kept on working on things, we kept most of our team together but just brought in Verle (Williams) and (Akeem) Springs, and we have faith in our system.
"That hasn’t really changed in 10 years aside from a few tweaks, but we just have that belief in our system and culture which we have full faith in."
No decision yet on own future
When the Buccs broke through for that championship in 2019 when Wundenberg was captain, it was such a relief to have broken through after 15 years of hard toil that it might have been the perfect way for him to retire.
Covid then made things challenging over the next couple of years, but while Wundenberg's body was still allowing him to get up and down the court, and the passion he has for the Buccs and to represent Geraldton, he wanted to try and get more success.
Then the pain of losing in 2022 meant he had to keep playing in 2023, but then even after that championship there was the lure of playing in 2024 to reach his 500-game milestone and then to try and be part of a Grand Final at RAC Arena.
Now by the end of 2025, Wundenberg has achieved everything he could have ever hoped and dreamed of, but it's still never easy to walk away so he isn’t yet decided on whether he will leave after a fairytale championship or not.
He's also only four games off the all-time SBL/NBL1 West games record so if Seb Salinas doesn’t play on in 2026, Wundenberg might overtake him, but he's not making any decisions yet.
"It's just so satisfying and such an achievement, and it most likely will be my last but I'll just let the dust settle and not make anything official right now," Wundenberg said.
"I've just told the boys that if I don’t turn up to pre-season then you know I'm done. I'm not real big on making big statements or anything so that's how everyone will know if this is it or not.
"I still love it, though, and the mind still wants to keep going but there are some things with the body that are telling me it might be time. But we'll just worry about enjoying this for now and that's all I'm worried about."