The Thunder was a cut above the rest en route to the minor premiership and put the finishing touches on a fine season with a flawless finals series.

They were crowned this year’s champions in front of their adoring fans at Keilor Basketball Stadium on Saturday night with a 2-0 sweep of Blackburn Vikings in the best-of-three grand final series.

An ecstatic Thunder coach Steve Toy jumped for joy and his players were overjoyed at the final buzzer of the 73-60 win in game two.

‘‘I think I’ve jumped as high as I have in about 30 years,’’ he told the Weekly after the game.

‘‘It was really exciting counting the last seconds down. It’s terrific.’’

Nerves might have got the better of the Thunder in the first quarter.

The hosts trailed by as much as six and had to battle to stay in the contest.

‘‘They got off to a flyer,’’ Toy said. ‘‘It took us a while to peg them back.’’

The Thunder knew only one way to reverse the trend. They tightened the screws with their trademark defence.

A mere 17 points was all the Thunder conceded in periods two and three.

They went to three-quarter-time with a commanding 14-point lead.

This strategic ability to lock down opposition teams when they get a roll on has been the key to the Thunder’s remarkable season.

‘‘Our defence was fantastic,’’ Toy said. ‘‘That really set the tone for the rest of the game.’’ The Thunder could not have achieved their great heights without Katherine Black.

The imposing centre finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

This pointed the way to the premiership — but not the grand final MVP award, which was controversially given to Vikings star Lauren Hoare.

Toy was not too fussed and lauded Black’s superb series.

‘‘It’s unusual, yeah, but that’s one person’s opinion,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ll take the premiership any day. She was absolutely awesome all night.

‘‘She made shots and got stops when we needed them. She has been fantastic since the finals started and it’s like she’s stepped up another gear.’’