It's long been said that defence wins championships, but the WNBL blueprint is now clear - it's experience.
In 2023-24, it was the Southside Flyers, one of oldest teams in history spearheaded by Lauren Jackson and Leilani Mitchell with a combined seven Olympics, who saluted and this season, in a grand final series which began last Wednesday and concluded on Sunday it was the experience-laden Bendigo Spirit.
Having missed the finals for nine seasons following three consecutive grand final appearances, which netted back-to-back triumphs in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and runner-up status the next season, Bendigo pulled itself off the canvas.
With championship OG's Kelly Wilson and Kelsey Griffin returning in recent years after stints in Canberra and Townsville, the Spirit lured their 2018-19 Caps championship teammate Marianna Tolo, back from overseas and out of the nation's capital where she'd played the entirety of her WNBL career.
With just a WNBL title missing from a bumper CV, Sami Whitcomb signed in what was the biggest off-season move. The opportunity to play domestically with her Opals teammate and on the same team as Griffin enticed.
The quartet formed one of the most experienced groups to hit the floor in the 45-season history of Australia's longest-running elite women's sporting league with Wilson the oldest player in the league at 41-years-old, Griffin is 37, Whitcomb 36 and Tolo 35 bringing decades of knowledge from playing around the globe.
Add in a gun import in Veronica Burton who brought an elite skillset, and at 24, the average age down.
Sport like society can become fixated on youth and younger being better. In an environment where expiry dates are dished out and constant reminders women aren't what they used to be; Bendigo thumbed its nose at the well-worn perceptions.
Griffin forecast just that to ESPN on the eve of finals.
"I hope we can change the perception of what a WNBL athlete should be because Kelly is still impacting the game incredibly at 41 years of age, I'm doing it at 37, Sami's absolutely smashing it and took home the MVP," she said.
"I'm hoping we show that there is no time limit to a professional female athlete's career, and we've got some amazing young talent, but we also have some incredible, experienced talent in this league."
The Spirit's experience was starkly evident against a less experienced Townsville line-up whether it was withstanding a hot Fire run, composure in a dour defensive battle, making a pressure free throw or tough shot.
Their tales transcend their date of birth.
Games record holder Kelly Wilson, in appearance 475, won her fifth championship from eight attempts.
Her first grand final experience was in February 2004 when her Sydney Flames fell to Dandenong and OutKast's Hey Ya was top of the charts, Rodger Federer had just won the first of six Australian Open titles and three of Bendigo's freshly crowned champions (Lavina Cox, Opal Bird and Asha Nightingale) were yet to be born.
In a season where Wilson broke the record for all-time assists, a championship is so richly deserved for a point guard who epitomises calm on the court, sets the standard with her work ethic off it, and juggles full time work and motherhood.
Griffin all but confirmed her status as a modern-day champion of the sport.
As an import, who later become an Aussie citizen, she was the Grand Final MVP in the Spirit's first two titles, took her wares to Canberra, dominated the competition on the way to winning league MVP and added another two championships including a third Rachael Sporn Medal for best player in the deciding series.
She's battled injuries in recent years and carried the team on her shoulders. If KG23 didn't fire, Bendigo probably didn't win. Not this season.
Griffin busted her hand on the eve of the season opener and missed the first few games as Bendigo went on a 9-0 run to launch #WNBL25, returned and packed a punch off the bench before working her way back into the starting group.
The ultimate competitor, Griffin's high IQ, toughness and leadership shone bright then she delivered one hell of a speech in the post-game ceremony.
Tolo is a winner, so smart and a total work horse. Big in stature and big in impact, she was on the verge of double-doubles in both game 1 (17 points, 5 rebounds) and the decider (17 points, 9 rebounds).
And then there was Whitcomb. It was Sami's season.
Fresh from her first Olympics, and a bronze medal in Paris, the sharpshooter signalled her intentions in the opening game of the season and was a runaway winner for the Suzy Batkovic Medal for league MVP.
On the court she called home last season, Whitcomb sunk a game-high 23 points helping Bendigo achieve the championship.
Her resume now features an Olympic medal, dual FIBA World Cup medals, two WNBA titles, WNBL MVP, WNBL Finals MVP and WNBL champion.
Burton is a genuine star who scored consistently in the opening game and facilitated and disrupted in the second.
Key pieces to the Spirit puzzle, Casey Samuels and Abbey Wehrung last week shared their respective, personal journeys to the grand final with ESPN and now have rings on their fingers.
Micah Simpson grew in her second campaign and will reap the rewards of working with and learning from Wilson and Burton.
Georgia Booth and Ashlee Hannan played in last season's grand final. Booth a development player with the champions Southside and Hannan on the losing side for Perth. They are now championship teammates and Booth is a back-to-back winner with two clubs.
Cox, who was drafted to AFLW club Hawthorn during the WNBL season, clocked her first career minutes in a season which ended with a trophy as did fellow teens Bird and Nightingale.