They beat Ajax 57-52 in Tuesday night’s semifinal, claiming a spot in next week’s final.
Perhaps just as significantly, it is the first time Ajax will not appear in the championship game in over 15 years.
The Magic will face Varsity, who will defend their title after beating the Andy Bay Falcons 66-56 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
There was never going to be a true upset in either game, though.
The four teams have been so tight all season it was always going to come down to who showed up in the big moments.
And so it proved.
The Magic and Ajax played out a typically hard-fought affair, just one point separating the rivals with less than three minutes to play.
Tia Pavihi (12 points) delivered the crucial baskets, a floater and then a transition layup on either side of a time-out, taking Magic to a 54-49 lead.
It gave Magic breathing room it would never relinquish.
Janet Main (10 points) responded with a triple for Ajax, but Sarah-Joy Aruwa (14 points) capped a strong night by burying three of four free throws to close out the game.
Shanti Kara (17 points) was equally influential for the Magic.
She ran well in transition and helped her team to a 21-14 first quarter lead.
Ajax clawed their way back in the second quarter, as a 9-1 run sparked by Natalie Ivamy left the halftime score at 31-30.
That continued as the Magic offence faltered through the third quarter, as Ajax surged ahead on a 14-1 run, to lead 44-38 early in the fourth quarter.
But Kara stepped up again.
She finished in transition to pull the Magic back to within one, and while Kiana Brown answered for Ajax, Kara pulled up and drained a three-pointer to tie the scores at 46-46.
From there she got to the line and drained both shots, giving the Magic a two-point lead, which Fay Fualau-Searle doubled with a nice post move.
Hannah Beede converted one at the foul line, before Main hit a pull-up to bring it to 50-49.
At that point Pavihi’s two baskets gave the Magic space, which it held to carry on and book a spot in the final.
In the other game, Varsity got their jump early and held a comfortable, if not convincing, lead most of the way.
They started strongly to lead 12-2 early, which they extended to 36-20 by halftime, a margin which hovered between 10 and 15 for the rest of the game.
Legacy Harrison led the students with 16 points, while Sophie Adams, Abby Harris and Thaya Shaw each had 11.
Elise Carline and Laura Ring had 17 and 16 respectively for the Falcons.
• Former Southern Hoiho forward Laina Snyder will play for the Whai in the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league this season.
Snyder, who represented the Hoiho in 2022, was named in the all-star five and was the leading Tauihi scorer, averaging 20.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals in 12 games.
