The Adelaide 36ers have continued their unbelievable dominance of the Sydney Kings despite a couple of SA based players nearly stealing the show in the 106-101 win over a packed Friday night crowd at the Fortress…
Adris Deleon invoked memories of 2011 for the die hard NBL basketball fans turning back time and the clock for his 21 points. Photo by Zimbio/Mark Brake and Getty Images.
It was a case of the Master versus the Apprentice as Adris took on Jerome Randle in a salivating ball handling big game time moments contest that has been seasons in the making and finally took centre stage at the great theatre of Titanium Security Arena…
THE WRAP Q BY Q
The first quarter was a plethora of scoring prowess from Nathan Sobey’s “filaaaaay” to Majok Deng staring his defender down in the face in the low post and draining the deuce. Andrew Bogut welcomed himself to the Adelaide crowd with a two handed dunk before Daniel Johnson showed his wares again exposing the Kings lack of foot speed in the front court with triples and easy give an go layups. A taste of what was to come came in the final minute as Deleon lit up for his first set of triples before Randle beat the buzzer at quarter time 29-26 in the Sixers favour.
The second quarter belonged to a efficient Brad Newley who dropped 9 points and looked the player who nearly got the first legit Australian shot at the NBA. Bogut picked up a third foul and a verbal warning from the official for complaining about a box out that looked in NBA interpretation to be soft as butter, however illustrated the value of having bigs who understand rules about contact under the ring in the league. Bogut received a generous round of applause as he sat for the remainder of the quarter. Deleon helped put some early frosting on Brendan Teys 150th game cake feeding him for a pair of very popularly celebrated triples and then it happened. First Deleon crossed-over Randle then caught him hook line and sinker anticipating a drive but then stepped back for a fade-away triple to put the Sixers up by 10. Randle then quickly at the other end shaked and baked Deleon right back even forcing him right but it was just enough to deny Randle a second consecutive buzzer beater which the officials waved away. Sixers leading 62-52 at the main break.
The first half of the third belonged to Bogut as he found himself in the paint within hook shot range and obliged on more than one occasion while also dishing up some delicious interior passes. The highlight however was after a DJ offensive rebound, the Kings road runner Randle was blindsided by Jacob Wiley “Coyote” as he slashed through the key way and off the pass finished with the one handed slammer followed by a trademark flex we are becoming very use to. Brian Bowen II finished the quarter with a corner triple and we had a close one with an 82-80 edge to the home side.
DJ, Kevin Lisch, Sobey, Teys traded triples continuing the outstanding showcase of offence for both teams but none were quite like the man turning back the clock to 2011 in Deleon who again reeled Randle in and spat him back out with a triple that brought the house down, Deleon walking to the other end of the court showing off a wild celebration bringing the crowd to their feet. In the end despite a ridiculous Randle triple to close the game to a bucket with seconds left, the Sixers held their nerve and sealed it from the stripe with their dominance of the Sydney Kings reigning on for a bit longer after a game we’ll never forget.
COACH SPEAK
Sixers Coach Joey Wright despite Adris’s game was all full of praise for the other star of the night former captain Teys in his 150th game, “People don’t understand what this guy has done sitting here playing. It sometimes irritates me and disappoints me when they (we know who your referring to Joey) attack our players, he’s our glue guy and no-one knows the energy this guy puts in.”
Kings coach Andrew Gaze commented about the adjustments that his star player Bogut is making coming from the NBA into the NBL system and style, “We have to find a balance between him being a rim-runner occasionally. When he’s at that high-post he’s really good and we don’t quite have the balance right just yet.”
DO THE STATS LIE?
The Sixers had 44 bench points to 26 in their favour as Deleon and Teys dropped 21 and 14 of those points showing again the Sixers can cover the depth when any of their starters are down. The Sixers also shot 52 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc with Deleon and Teys also committing zero turnovers in the match.
The Kings were all about the paint with Bogut and the fast break points to Randle and Newley as they shot 50 points from inside and scored 24 points on fast breaks and 19 points from turnovers.
WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS
The Sixers flew to Melbourne today for a Grand Final rematch going down in a thriller 75-72 in a match that again probably has Wright scratching his head how he can get one of those wins in Victoria (maybe the new SE Melbourne team might offer an opportunity next season) but the Sixers did keep their Achilles heal in Ware and Goulding to single figures showing a win in Melbourne isn’t too far away.
They now head to Cairns for Friday night to take on the new look Taipans where probably the two major threats for the Sixers are the big imposing presence of a healthy Nate Jawai and the newly arrived scoring machine of the North Melo Trimble who’s already accumulated 50 points in two matches.
But after a vintage performance from what we think was the past incarnation of Adris Deleon, the Sixers will be on the hunt to continue their imposing away record over this side from last season and erase the ghosts of Christmas Eve past once and for all…
An 18 point second half from reigning MVP Perth Wildcats Bryce Cotton has spun the Adelaide 36ers out of a close opening encounter 91-99 on the opening night of the NBL season…
The MVP knows when its "Game Time" and proved it once again in the cauldron of the fourth quarter at the Fortress. Photo by Zimbio
Cotton’s 12 point final quarter ended up proving the difference in the contest as the Sixers and Wildcats went head to head in the opening quarter.
THE WRAP Q BY Q
Ramone Moore re-endeared himself to the crowd with a triple for the opening score of the season before “2hard2guard” Adris Deleon made his return to the NBL dressing the crowd in a long range bomb and some passion to boot. New Wildcats import Terrico White made his presence felt early while the addition of Nick Kay gave the Wildcats front court a much more flowing look compared to the stagnant one dimensional key way presence of the finals last season. Both teams were deadlocked at 23-23 a piece at quarter time.
The Wildcats began to expose the potential weakness of the Sixers under the basket (and perhaps an onset of lag from the NBL/NBA series) as Kay, returning tower Tom Jervis and Angus Brandt went to work underneath to push the Wildcats out to a 41-48 lead at the half. The newly appointed skipper of the Sixers DJ and the “one to watch” this season in Nathan Sobey keeping the Sixers in the contest. The Wildcats then opened the gap up early to as many as 15 points before an inspired import arrival of Jacob “get outta my way” Wiley and Sobey combined for 19 points in the third quarter to lead the Sixers back to the front, the only blemish conceding a two handed walk through the lane jam to Kay on the three quarter buzzer to give the Wildcats the lead 73-74 with one to play.
Deleon continued a solid debut for the Sixers while Brendan Teys found some of his late from as the Sixers led 80-76 with 6:05 to go and the game looked like through the depth of the Sixers bench it was going their way. Then at the 3:51 mark, Cotton turned the game on its head dropping his first of 12 points for the quarter as he along with the defensive nous of Damian Martin and Mitch Norton led the Wildcats to an upset win over the Sixers.
COACH SPEAK
Sixers Coach Joey Wright described his team having a “hero” ball mentality and lamented the ability of his team to stick to the gameplan that got them back into the game in the third quarter, “We didn’t play to our game style and we shot 29 three pointers, that’s not us, they were scoring easy points because of that and they were able to get back and slow us down with their zone.”
Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson commented pre game about building the team around Cotton but that notion also assisted the Wildcats mantra of how they wanted to play ball, “We find the guy who is getting going so that was Terrico (White) and Nick (Kay) for most of the night, we had a big emphasis to get the ball in the post early and showed some patience.”
DO THE STATS LIE?
The Sixers for the record shot 21 percent from beyond the arc in 23 shots and only had 4 fast break points in key indicators of how the Wildcats were able to make the Sixers play the style they didn’t want.
The Wildcats dished 18 assists and shot 47 percent from the field to back-up Gleeson’s point about finding the scorer and working the ball inside the paint.
WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS
Last season the Sixers dropped a close opener to United before heading to Sydney to face the Kings on the Saturday, as the Finn’s say history never repeats but in this case it does as the Sixers head to the “King-dome” of Qudos for an appointment with the new incoming paint King Andrew Bogut, the ever reliable Kevin Lisch and former Sixers import Jerome Randle. The expectation will be high on the Kings so the Sixers can sneak an early win not only this Saturday but next Friday before the Kings find their rhythm in their royal court.
As Joey said the Sixers don’t need heroes, but they do need avengers…
ADELAIDE 36ERS 91 (JOHNSON 23, SOBEY 20, WILEY 13, DELEON 11) LOST TO PERTH WILDCATS 99 (COTTON 22, WHITE 20, KAY 18, JERVIS 12)
The Sixers steam train has been halted for 2018 thanks to an unstoppable 11 point opening quarter bomb fest from Grand Final MVP Melbourne United dynamo Chris Goulding, 82-100 in front of a sell-out at Hisense Arena Saturday night.
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)
Vastly underused before by the Wildcats last season, his absolute best is elite and could be a handy recruit that the Sixers have looked at before. Photo by Zimbio
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 Sixers rookie had some excellent years at the Sydney Kings and Lietuvos Rytas but perhaps at 33 years of age, it’s time to come home and help the Sixers win a championship. Photo by Basketnews
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)
The 19 year old flamethrower has no doubt been on the Sixers radar and if not next season, then certainly expect him to be in Blue and White in the future. Photo by Stanford Daily
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)
With United successful with a veteran in Dave Andersen and the Sixers needing some finals experience, is a phone call to the Big O worth it for 5-10 pivotal minutes in a game? Photo by Zimbio
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
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 