Kennedy Kereama is trying not to pick a side. The Bendigo Spirit head coach said the WNBA Finals matchup between Isobel Borlase's Atlanta Dream and Veronica Burton's Golden State Valkyries had left him “really tough” about where to land, with the series tied one game apiece and Game 3 set for Thursday, October 22, at 11am AEDT.
That is why Borlase is being searched now. The 22-year-old has gone from a rookie role player to a name in the title series, and Kereama's answer captures the awkwardness of watching two players he knows well face each other for the 2026 WNBA Championship. He said he was still in touch with both women during the Finals, messaging Borlase most days, if not every second day, while also keeping up regular contact with Burton.
For Borlase, the numbers explain the rise. She played all 44 regular-season games and averaged 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13 minutes off the bench, after averaging 7.4 minutes in May before becoming a trusted part of Atlanta's playoff rotation. After the FIBA break, that climbed to 14 minutes. She also showed what she can do at the highest level for the Opals, scoring 30 points against Italy.
Kereama's problem is that Burton is just as close to him. He worked with both players at Bendigo, where Burton had already won the 2025 WNBL Championship alongside Sami Whitcomb, while Whitcomb later went to the 2025 WNBA Finals with the Phoenix Mercury. So when he says he is still going to sit on the fence, it is not a dodge. It is the only honest answer when the same title series puts two former Bendigo players on opposite sides of the court.
He said he was advocating for great basketball and for the best team to win, but also that Borlase lifting a championship would be “great” and give her the best possible experience in her first WNBA season. That leaves the bigger point untouched for now: Bendigo Spirit will have a WNBA champion in 2026, no matter which side wins Game 3 and the rest of the series.
What Kereama did make clear is that the league's reach has changed fast, and that players with WNBL ties are now part of that pull. He pointed to the recent surge in attention around the WNBA and said it was “incredible” to see two players he has spent so much time with in Bendigo battling for the championship. By Thursday morning, one of them will move closer to the title, and the other will have to watch it happen from the wrong side.
