the Grand Final MVP for the series win over the Wildcats (although the Grand Final MVP was his first official award, Loggins had also been the player of the game with 41 points in the 1985 Grand Final victory). Form slump The Bullets finished the 1988 regular season in third place with an 18–6 record, but they couldn't manage to reach their fifth grand final in a row after losing in the elimination final. A highlight of the 1988 season for the Bullets was first year player Shane Heal winning the NBL's Rookie of the Year award. The 1989 season saw the team fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 1983 when they finished the regular season in eighth place with an 11–13 record. In the wake of this disappointing season, the Bullets' line-up was extensively overhauled: Leroy Loggins, Greg Fox, and Robert Sibley were the only players from the 1989 Bullets team to continue with the club for the 1990 season, while both Larry Sengstock and Ron Radliff left to join the NBL's second Queensland-based team, the Gold Coast Cougars, for its inaugural season in 1990. Boosted by new imports Derek Rucker and Andre Moore, the Bullets made a huge turn around in 1990, finishing in third place and going 18–8 for the season. They would again win their way into the grand final, again playing the Perth Wildcats. This time however the Bullets lost 2–1, losing Game 3 at home 109–86. Game 2 of the series, with the Bullets levelling at one game all with a 106–90 win, saw a then NBL grand final record crowd of 13,221 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. This would stand the highest ever grand final crowd for a game played outside of Melbourne until 13,527 saw Game 2 of the 2012–13 Grand Final series between the Wildcats and New Zealand Breakers at Perth Arena. The attendance remains the eighth largest for an NBL Grand Final game. Brian Kerle won his second Coach of the Year award, while new import guard Derek Rucker becoming the second Bullets player to win the NBL's MVP award. The 1991 season was not nearly as successful, as the team finished in ninth place, way out of finals contention with a 13–13 record. However, in 1992, the Bullets were back in the finals, making it to the quarter-finals. In 1993, former NBL Coach of the