Basketball On The Internet.

COME on now. It doesn't matter which team you support, this "debate" about the officiating on the eve of Game 3 of the NBL Grand Final is fairly tiresome.

I know the referees themselves, or their extended officiating ranks never would admit this but it is abundantly clear they are affected, influenced, or at the very least, dazzled by the home crowds.

It is human nature. Tell me the refs are immune to the machinations of the home faithful and I will agree - if we're talking about 1200 attending a Sydney Spirits match.

But 13,291 ardent fans - apart from a handful, all valued members of the Red Army - riding your every call at Perth Arena? Don't tell me that doesn't influence you.

Yes, I know it isn't supposed to and for the most part during the year, it may not.

But just as 8,127 raucous fans at Adelaide Arena got their wish in Game 2, so had the fans at Game 1.

Unless you are one of the extremely one-eyed members the Red Army, you would have found Perth coach Trevor Gleeson's comments about how good the officiating was after Game 1 slightly disingenuous.

Again, only the most one-eyed, and I met a few in the airport and on the plane to Perth today, can comfortably rationalise the 47-13 free throw disparity and James Ennis' ability to play 38 minutes without a foul in the Wildcats' Game 1 win.

That's the biggest free throw disparity in NBL Grand Final history. When Gleeson, in the aftermath of the 36ers' Game 2 win can assert the very same officiating crew was influenced by his Adelaide counterpart Joey Wright, he is missing the point.

It wasn't Joey. It was human nature.

For all the comments that the wild free throw disparity was heavily influenced by Adelaide's fouling to stop the clock late in Game 1, let's review that. The 36ers fouled 5 times in the last 55 seconds for 10 Wildcats freebies.

Take out those 10 free throws and the disparity still is 37-13, which would rank SECOND all-time as the biggest Grand Final difference behind the 42-15 advantage the Sydney Kings enjoyed against West Sydney Razorbacks in the 2004 championship deciding Game 5.

And that was a 48-minute game.

So to just pretend the officials were not impacted by the intense atmosphere of The Jungle is to similarly suggest they were just doing their jobs at The Fortress too when Game 1's foul-free Ennis fouled out, as did Shawn Redhage, with several other Wildcats in foul trouble.

Come on now.

The officiating from Game 1 to Game 2 was much tougher. If you are an Adelaide fan, that's how you want to see the game called because Perth is the more physical club.

But the likelihood is it won't be, because with a potential 14,000-strong Red Army on the march, the noise, the atmosphere, the occasion will carry the day.

And that is how it should be because that's why you work all season to lock up home court advantage. If there wasn't an advantage, what would be the point?

THE 36ers are avoiding dining in the same hotel restaurant in Perth which led to Mitch Creek, Rhys Carter and Brendan Teys suffering gastro ahead of Game 1 this week.

Creek and Carter were non-factors in the match, though Teys continued to vindicate his elevation from 10th man to starter with another sterling effort.

When the Sixers learnt Townsville's Greg Vanderjagt and Steve Markovic suffered the same fate after eating at the same place before flying on to Adelaide for the second leg of the Doomsday Double, they wisely decided to give it a wide berth this time.

WHEN Wollongong was unable to push Perth to three games in their semi final series, the Dr John Raschke Trophy was Western Australia-bound for the sixth time.

With the massive home court edge Perth Arena provides, Adelaide needed the Hawks to keep the Wildcats active and not sitting back getting rested and focused, while the 36ers battled out a three-match series with Melbourne.

The Tigers also needed that had they have gotten through the semi.

Perth has the best import duo in the NBL, its Best Defensive Player, its Rookie of the Year, a naturalised Olympian and, according to the Financial Review - which I only buy for the sports section, comics and great photographs - has just made $1million profit.

Ahead of Game 3 and despite Adelaide's best efforts in the rebirth of the league's oldest rivalry, I can't see a 36ers upset.