Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
It’s not every day a three-year-old inspires a professional athlete, but Alex Ciabattoni believes a little mentor has helped her find a new gear to push for a maiden WNBL championship.
Ciabattoni has had a stellar season for the Perth Lynx, making the All-WNBL Second Team and averaging 14.6 points en route to their grand final series against the Townsville Fire beginning on Thursday.
The 31-year-old’s form comes as she plans to add one more thing to her decorated WNBL resume: a championship ring.
But she knows history isn’t on her team’s side, having played in and lost their two previous grand finals in 2022 and 2024.
The Lynx also haven’t won a championship since 1992.
However, she’s hoping her three-year-old son Eli can help provide the inspiration needed to finally earn her a title.
“This might be the last time I’m there, so it would mean the world to me to finally win one,” Ciabattoni told AAP.
“I know that he (Eli) might not necessarily remember it, but … to have him be part of this experience would just be absolutely amazing and a dream.
“When you’re on court, it’s the weirdest thing, but I genuinely feel like there is just so much strength in being a mum.
“He’s definitely taught me a new level of resilience and strength. Any mum knows how hard it is to go through childbirth, get fit, do your life with a toddler attached to your hip, and get to work.”
Miela Sowah is one Townsville player ready to spoil Perth’s grand final aspirations.
After playing for her opponents last season and in the 2024 grand final defeat, Sowah says it will be “weird” taking on her friends knowing a championship is on the line.
But she is brushing her personal feelings aside, taking inspiration from the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder to win a championship after the Fire finished runners-up last year.
“One of my favourite NBA teams is OKC because they were the youngest in the NBA (when they won it last season), ” Sowah said, as Townsville is the youngest side in the WNBL.
“It proves age is not a factor. Whoever wants it the most and puts in the hard work will get it.”
She expects the best-of-three “rivalry” tie to also be a dogfight.
In the last four finals series, Perth and Townsville have met every time, but tensions boiled over in their last match in January when Alicia Froling allegedly called Han Xu a “crybaby” after her reaction to an elbow to the nose.
“The rivalry is real. I remember realising this is actually a legit thing,” Sowah said
“In my first WNBL season, as a development player (with Townsville), we won the championship. So to come back here and win would just be a full circle moment.”
