Milton Keynes continued their run to the Final from the #4 seed, securing a dramatic win in Hemel, whilst Reading are on for a stunning treble as they eased past Derby Trailblazers.
We take a look back at both of the weekend's match-ups below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Hemel Storm's playoff defence is over after they were handed a dramatic one-point loss at home to Milton Keynes.
Both teams enjoyed multiple leads in the contest, with the third period advantage switching on a seemingly minute-by-minute basis. Hemel looked to have themselves in a solid position as they led 73-67 with 8:10 left on the clock, but MK reeled off a rapid 7-0 run to put the game back in the balance.
With further lead changes on the cards, Hemel would trail by just a single point as they gained the ball on the game's final possession. Sam Newman would be the man left to pull the trigger on a potential game-winning shot, but the talented guard lost his footing as set to shoot, leaving his resulting effort with nowhere to go.
It was a heart-breaking way for the season to end for Newman and co., with the former Ipswich man dishing an impressive eight assists in the contest as Darien Nelson-Henry (23pts, 9reb) and Matt Ellis (17pts, 9reb) both fell a rebound shy of double-doubles.
Jordan Spencer (26pts, 9ast, 5reb) was the man for the big moments for Milton Keynes, as he so often is, as forward Adrian Scarborough (20pts, 10reb) also played a solid game in support.
Rolling with just a six-man rotation throughout what was a statement road upset, MK now head to Manchester with an opportunity to end their debut D1M season in the greatest way possible.
Hemel head into the off-season just one slip away from potentially having gone back to the National Basketball Performance Centre for what would have been a fifth Playoff Final in a row, displaying the fine margins in play during what has been a thrilling and hard-fought D1M campaign.
Reading set themselves up for a potential treble of KitKing Trophy, NBL National Cup and D1M Playoff glory as they handed Derby Trailblazers a 95-83 defeat in the day's other semi-final.
After both teams eased into the contest during an even opening quarter, the Rockets went through the gears to lead for each of the remaining three quarters, with their advantage touching 15 points during the third quarter.
Credit to Derby, they fought back more than once, getting their deficit below five points in all three of the remaining frames, before a late 11-6 run would increase the eventual margin of victory. Going 2/14 (14%) from beyond the arc certainly also hurt the Trailblazers comeback attempts, with Reading able to profit in comparison (9/21 3PT, 42%) as a big difference between the sides.
NBL National Cup MVP Justin Hopkins continues to thrive on the big stage, dropping a team-high 24 points to push Reading into back-to-back Playoff Finals, as Ty Nsangu (11pts, 20reb) produced a sizable double-double on the glass.
Solid outings from Lewis Champion (17pts, 6ast), Mitch Clarke (15pts, 6ast) and Zain Poorman (14pts, 5ast) all kept the Reading offence ticking over, with 23 assists from the visitors also contributing to their success.
Derby captain Malcolm Smith (31pts) did all he could to try and get his side into D1M's showpiece for the first time since 2011/12, but it wasn't to be as only Kyle Jimenez (14pts, 6ast) passed the 11-point mark for the hosts.
7pm - Hemel Storm 85-86 Milton Keynes Breakers - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
7:30pm - Derby Trailblazers 83-95 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Josh Nesden
