After a gruelling five game series, Melbourne United have claimed Victoria's first championship in a decade since the South Dragons. Photo by Australian Times Weekly
The match was met with much anticipation as fans of the Sixers packed the buses, cars and planes and got themselves over to Victoria to see Adelaide have a crack at their fifth NBL Championship and realistically its strongest chance of breaking the drought in 16 years. Travelling on the bus with the supporters crew after some much needed shut eye overnight we relived a couple of classic matches and documentaries as those making the trip for the first time got their history lesson. A traditional on the road breakfast at Mitch Creek’s hometown of Horsham started to flow the predictions and what it would mean to score the win but also the tough task we knew the club were going to have later that night.
Shoot arounds at the MSAC and freshening up were followed by the gathering of the “Sixers Nation Army” at Federation Square and after a pre-game meal and drink we gathered together and marched down the Yarra River to the Hisense Arena for the biggest game many had ever attended. An unsuspecting young Melbourne fan even got in with the banter wearing a Goulding #43 jersey as Sixers fans pretended to fall backwards as he walked through in jovial banter. It went to another notch as we hit the grass reserve and the army bunched up and the calls of “Let’s go Sixers, let’s go” echoed as the United fans realised there were more of us than they expected. So into Hisense we went and we very much felt like we were in enemy territory but it seemed every third person we ran into was from South Australia and very much believing our boys could get it done.
After some NBA like presentation and pyrotechnics the game got underway and the Sixers looked good early despite giving up some offensive rebounds and then it happened. The man that many experts declared would be the difference on the big stage and not the most loved player by Sixers fans Chris Goulding produced the patch that when you look back at the game, decided the Grand Final Series. Three times with hands in his face and working in something smaller than a phone box, he drained three “in your face” triples which had us as fans turn to each other and say, “too good…” That patch alone opened up from a 1 to a 12 point lead which set the tone for United, the Sixers sadly would never get any closer in the match. From my seat in the arena, one of the encouraging things was that our fans kept cheering and chanting throughout the match and made more noise at times than the 8000 United supporters who constantly needed to be reminded to cheer, not sure our “Down Town” Brown would ever need to do twice the voice work that guy had to. Advantage United at quarter time 34-22 however meaning we’d have to play catch-up basketball in Melbourne again for the third time in the series.
The second quarter ebbed and flowed with eventually the Sixers through Anthony Drmic sparking back to a seven point deficit before United settled again. Early on a couple of key players were missing shots in Deng and Sobey as Adelaide went 1 of 6 in the first half of the quarter to trail 42-24 and now looked in real trouble. They then turned it around in the latter part of the quarter as Drmic and DJ got busy and if not for a few accentuated contact Casper Ware Jnr three point attempts which resulted in 5-6 free throw makes might have had the Sixers much closer than the 57-44 scoreline at half-time. The mood amongst the fans camp was that they believed in the third quarter that the boys would make their move similar to game two of the 1998 Grand Final.
The Sixers started well at the defensive end but struggled to capitalise on the offensive end missing some golden opportunities under the bucket but then started to get busy as a team closing the game to a 67-61 scoreline with a 15-9 run. In a moment that was sliding doors like, DJ let rip a triple which rimmed and Deng’s practically went in the hoop and almost was spat out by the basket which had Sixers fans gasping has to how close that would’ve put the scores. United as they has done all game made us pay big time as David Barlow splashed a huge three moments later and within a flash what would’ve been a one basket lead to the Sixers was out to a 13 point lead to United. The Sixers however had one more crack as they edged it back to a 78-69 at the final change and the miracle was still alive.
A three minute patch from Prather and Ware resulting in 6-0 run probably killed any chance of a comeback and when Goulding hit his 102nd triple for the season (The most by any player since Jermaine Beal in 2014) half-way through the last quarter to make it 23 points, the game was realistically gone and we as Sixers fans began to feel the players hurt having come so close and not quite overcoming the final hurdle. The last five minutes was pretty painful to watch but for the sake of the contest its important to remember the hurt and what the players must be feeling to stir them to not feeling that again in the future. One thing i can confidentially say is that our fans cheered harder and for longer in the game all night especially when you could hear us in the third quarter in our comeback.
Melbourne United claimed the 40th NBL Championship 100-82 in (well probably the way the league may have wanted it to end) a fitting conclusion and after a initial shock from myself Goulding was named MVP of the series. I admit my initial thought was that Prather and Ware would’ve been more fitting but when I think about it after looking at all five games, Goulding’s third quarter in game one, second in game three, last quarter in game four and first quarter in game five along with ultra consistent free throw shooting and some actual decent defending (sadly mixed with some flopping) was the difference between the two teams.
There are six key things that I’ll take from this series for the NBL, Sixers and United…
- Experience is everything, Barlow, Prather, Andersen and Wesley and that eventually trumped the Sixers without Childress on the floor
- The recruiting department of the officiating should be the number one priority for the NBL over the break as we need more accountability for those who don’t perform the role, perhaps some international recruits should be looked at?
- You need your X-Factor to be consistent with Goulding smashing Sobey across five games, I hope Nate take this personally and comes back bigger and better next season
- If the Sixers can keep the three imports together and at least one of DJ and Creek, then they are a lock (if injury free) for top two next season
- The Sixers need one more specialist consistent perimeter shooter to compliment Drmic, Deng and Sobey
- If Creek goes to the NBA, the Sixers will drastically miss his presence but can cover it with smart recruiting
So who do you add to a team that were only probably 10 minutes of better basketball from being Champions…? Here is who i’d look at and why
#1 Target: Clint Steindl (Perth Wildcats)
Do not judge this player on his numbers last season and to be honest, the Wildcats offensive system did not allow him to flourish at his best but the Sixers system would. He’d be able to impact off the bench and at his absolute best is a lights out shooter, in 2016-17 he shot 41 percent from the perimeter and you only need a couple of the outside threats to get going before opposition change their strategy.
#2 Target: Ben Madgen (Lietuvos Rytas)
The former development player and Sydney Kings shooting guard is 33 years old and perhaps his international career is coming to an end, so it’s the perfect time to return to the NBL as David Andersen did and with the Kings maybe still a distance off challenging for a championship, the Sixers would be the perfect destination for the veteran to come home and finish his career under Joey Wright.
#3 Target: Isaac White (Stanford College NCAA)
Has trained with the Sixers during his time with the Sturt Sabres and while it is highly unlikely he is available as of yet, the young 19 year old has shown he is an out and out shooter and could match the playing style that Joey Wright needs to go one better next season, if not next season, look for his name in a Sixers jersey in the near future.
and the surprise: Oscar Forman (Retired from Illawarra Hawks)
It’d probably be only for one year but if the Sixers were to call the Big O out of retirement for one more season it could be a master stroke. A man with championship experience (2002), finals experience (2008-2017), 511 games and a born and bred South Australian would be an ideal fit. Of course it’d be a surprise but also a great curtain call to see the prodigal son return to where it all started to play the “Veterans” role. He could finish his career by knocking down some crucial triples at home during the season when the Sixers run their half-court offense. He’ll only need five minutes a game to have a potential impact and if it doesn’t work one night then there are plenty that can fill the void if needed.
It has been a pleasure to bring you the fan, expert and analytical perspective this season and if you missed any of my articles then please head back through the archives to catch some of my work. For now at the conclusion of the 2017-18 NBL season, it has been one of the most entertaining, enjoyable to write about and I wish everyone an enjoyable Winter off-season (or major local season if your in PL or District) and we’ll look forward to seeing the Sixers go once again and go one better next season. As is the case with this page, I want to leave you with a set of comments from Sixers general Mitch Creek to conclude the season…
“You walk back in that changeroom and it’s heartbreaking, this is our life, this is my life, I devote every single aspect of my time to this game and getting better, understanding the coach and teammates. But at the end of the day it’s a basketball game, we’re in a great position with a great job and beautiful people around us with families and supporters and a great league, so it’s tough one to swallow but at the end of the day we have to count ourselves to be very lucky to be in the position we are.”
#AllForAdelaide #WeAreSixers #CrossOverDribble
GAME 5: MELBOURNE UNITED 100 (GOULDING, WARE 23, PRATHER 19, WESLEY 14, BOONE 10) DEFEATED ADELAIDE 36ERS 82 (SHORTER 20, JOHNSON 17, CREEK 15, MOORE, DRMIC 10)
MELBOURNE WON THE SERIES 3-2
LARRY SENGSTOCK MVP MEDALLIST: CHRIS GOULDING
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE FINALS AWARDS
ROOKIE AWARD: PETER HOOLEY
VETERANS CLASS: DAVID BARLOW
SURPRISE PACKET: MAJOK DENG
EFFICIENCY AWARD: MITCH CREEK
BARELY SIGHTED: MAJOK MAJOK
TRASH TALKER: TIE – SHANNON SHORTER/CASPER WARE JNR
BUSINESS TIME AWARD: CASEY PRATHER
DOWN TOWN AWARD: CHRIS GOULDING
BEAST MAN AWARD: DANIEL JOHNSON
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 