The Kings' playoffs hopes were dashed with a 100-87 loss to the Wollongong Hawks, after which Heal announced he would not apply to continue in his role. It means Saturday night's game against Townsville at the Entertainment Centre will be his last in charge.

"I wanted to finish with the Kings on a high. I won't be putting my hand up to do this job again," Heal told reporters after the loss in Wollongong. "I wanted to be able to do that after we made the finals. So I'm really disappointed to finish on this note. I'm just hoping tomorrow night we can go and get a win."

Heal said he had been thinking for "quite a time" about his future. He had taken an off-season job with Wellington Saints in the New Zealand league. Wellington is regarded as one of the frontrunners for a licence in an expanded NBL.

"I've taken the job in New Zealand. I'm looking forward to going over there and doing that job," Heal said. "That's the way it is."

Heal said he didn't want to get into "details" about his relationship with the club's heirarchy, but admitted he was frustrated that no players had been re-signed for next year until as recently as three weeks ago.

"There wasn't the chemistry that you need to be able to build on," he said. "We had one player here that's been here for two years - and that's Madge. There is not the stability here at the moment. It takes time and you have to have a plan and try and build on that plan. Unfortunately, for various reasons, that couldn't happen this year. I think that was a major part of it. We were 10 and six when we started to get some sort of stability."

The former Boomer said he had begun to ponder his future at the club around Christmas. "This is a decision you make with your family about what's right," he said. "I think the timing is right for me. It's been a great couple of years. I've loved playing for the club, I've got a great history at the club, I wanted to win a championship with the club, but I just feel like this is the right decision."

Kings captain Ben Madgen - who was signed on Thursday to another two years with the Kings - had no inkling of Heal's decision.

"I'm extremely disappointed," he said. "I've loved playing for Shane. He's been a great mentor, the best coach I've ever had in my career. That's the first I've heard of it as well, so I'm disappointed but wish Shane all the best."

Contrary to reports I have not resigned from coaching the kings. I simply will not be putting my hand up to coach again next year. — Shane Heal (@ShaneHeal) March 21, 2014

Sydney travelled south to meet their NSW foes with the winning team clinching fourth spot in the playoffs and a guaranteed match-up against the minor premiers, the Perth Wildcats.

The Hawks led 71-66 heading into the final quarter and closed out the match to the delight of the partisan crowd at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre.

Even if the Kings win their final regular-season match on Saturday night against Townsville and the Hawks go down to the Wildcats in their last match before the finals, Sydney can only tie Wollongong on the table.

But because the Hawks won all four of their head-to-head clashes during the season, they will still advance to the final four.

Wollongong led 28-22 after the first quarter and maintained that advantage for a 50-44 scoreline at the main break.

Hawks captain Oscar Forman top-scored with 26 points while Rotnei Clarke added 24.

For the Kings, former NBA forward Sam Young tallied 27 points and seven rebounds, while Ben Madgen knocked down 17 points and Tom Garlepp added 16.

The NBL semi-final series will be played simultaneously, with all games to be televised on free-to-air on Network Ten.

The first two games of each semi-final series will be broadcast live nationally into all markets.

The first semi-final series will start on Thursday, March 27 with the Adelaide 36ers hosting the Melbourne Tigers. The second semi-final series will begin the following evening in Perth with the Wildcats taking on Wollongong.

NBL chief executive Fraser Neill said fans would be the big winners from the revitalised finals format.

“Scheduling a finals series across four cities while still having the uncertainty of exactly who will be playing isn’t easy. But whether you’re at one of the venues watching courtside, in your lounge room or using the live streaming service you will have access to the NBL finals this year,” Neill said.

The two semi-final winners will face off for the 2014 NBL Championship over two weekends from Sunday, April 6.