Captain Creek Calls on NBA Greats to Arrest Slide

South East Melbourne were forced to field a team with no imports for the first time ever during their 38-point loss to Illawarra last week, another unwanted record for the franchise.

But Creek is buoyant that his team, currently seventh on the NBL table, will arrest the slide and turn their form around – stressing that togetherness is the way out of the slump.

"I was proud of the guys. We stayed together and were reluctant to give any excuses,” Creek told 3AW’s Wide World of Sports.

“It was just a tough, gritty loss. We take positives out of it; there's not a lot, but there are some things we take out of it.”

A huge positive is Creek himself, scoring 24 points and reigning in seven rebounds against the Hawks, currently the only player in the league ranked inside the top-10 for both points and boards.

Despite winning just one of their previous six games, Creek joked that some well-known troops were incoming to serve as backup for the growing injury list.

“Michael Jordan has come out of retirement, Hakeem Olajuwon has also said he will suit up, and the great number three Allen Iverson is going to be the head of the snake this week.”

Who actually returns for Mike Kelly’s side remains to be seen, but all eyes now turn toward Saturday’s clash with the red-hot Perth Wildcats at RCA Arena.

The Phoenix will be weary of Wildcats superstar Bryce Cotton, the guard scoring more than 25 points in his last six outings against the visitors on home court.

Curb Cotton’s influence and the Phoenix could continue their plucky habit of upsetting the top of the table.

An effort even the great Michael Jordan would take notice of.

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The Phoenix play their first home game for 2024 in the Heartland at State Basketball Centre on Wednesday, January 17, against the Adelaide 36ers.

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