A historic day for the Caledonia Gladiators as they headed to Birmingham to face the undefeated Oaklands Wolves in the 2025 SLB Trophy Final. Both in search of silverware, this game would be a battle from start to finish with both teams wanting to bring the trophy home for their fans. The Gladiators showed their fighting spirit to take down a strong Oaklands team in front of their family and fans. The Trophy will take its rightful place at Playsport, and these Caledonia Gladiators have craved their names in the history books.
The Caledonia Gladiators were quick to set the tone at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, not letting the moment get to their heads and playing together. Taking an early lead, the Gladiators would show the Wolves who was in control of this game, winning the first quarter 14 – 19. The game would start with both battling hard, with both teams showing they deserved to be at this final. But it would be the Gladiators that took the 5-point lead after the first 10 minutes, with a strong 8-point quarter from the game’s MVP Mathilde Domenger and a 6-point quarter for Ri Harris.
The second quarter saw a tight game between the two teams with the quarter score being just 11 -12, with the Gladiators pushing their lead to 6. Strong defence saw both teams struggle from behind the arc in this low scoring quarter. The Gladiators took the lead entering the half-time break, with their fans loudly cheering them back to the locker room, to prepare for another close half of basketball at the Utilitia Arena in Birmingham.
The half-time score was 25 – 31 to the Caledonia Gladiators.
The Oaklands Wolves would mount a comeback early, taking their first lead since the start of the game, 34 – 33, within the first few minutes of the second half, testing the composure of the Gladiators team, and remind the fans why they were undefeated. The Gladiators remained calm and took the Wolves run in their stride, retaking the lead and pushing it to an 8-point lead with only 10 minutes of action left. The Gladiators put themselves in a strong position entering the final quarter of the Trophy Final through great teamwork, but the Wolves weren’t done fighting and would take this game right down to the wire.
Entering the fourth quarter with an 8-point lead, the Gladiators had to remain composed with plenty of basketball left to play in the final 10 minutes. The Gladiators would start the quarter strong, pushing the lead to 12 points but the Wolves brought the game back into single digits, forcing it to a 1-point game with only 15 seconds left. With two clutch free throws from guard, Téa Adams, the Gladiators sealed the two-point win to create history.
The Gladiators are heading back home with the SLB Trophy in hand. Thank you to all our fans who have supported us all season from the stands and from home, we couldn’t do this without you behind us. We can’t wait to be back at Playsport again. Writing their names in history, this Caledonia Gladiator team will be remembered and the standard set in Birmingham will be the level aspired too for generations.
Your SLB Trophy MVP is Mathilde Domineer: