Heartland Hustle: Phoenix Fired Up for Throwdown XVI

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South East Melbourne might face a mammoth task to put itself back in the NBL22 finals picture, but the Phoenix are made of tough stuff. What better way to put themselves to the ultimate test than with a Throwdown date against fierce rivals Melbourne United?

In what is sure to be a playoff atmosphere at John Cain Arena, the Phoenix will put their best foot forward in a bid to keep their chances of finishing in the top four alive.

Here’s a look at the match up.

(Who will take out Throwdown XVI?)

Key Details
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE 12-11 (6th) v Melbourne United 16-7 (1st)
Where: The Fire Pit, John Cain Arena
When: Thursday, April 7, 7.30pm AEDT
Watch: ESPN, Kayo

The Teams

Phoenix
South East Melbourne missed a golden opportunity on the weekend to put pressure on the four with a loss to Cairns, but United’s Monday-night win over Perth helped the Phoenix cause. It comes down to the next five games for the Phoenix, five wins from five will put pressure on the top four. Drop one and a second trip to the finals for the Phoenix is all but lost.

Phoenix will once again be without sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained in the last Throwdown, with Lachie Barker as the nominated replacement player. Tohi Smith-Milner will also remain out of the side as he recovers from concussion sustained last week in training and will be replaced by Tristan Forsyth.

United
Melbourne bounced back after a pair of John Cain Arena losses to the in-form Illawarra Hawks with a road win over the Wildcats and will go into the Throwdown brimming with confidence. United will be boosted with the return of import Caleb Agada, who missed the trip to Perth due to a back injury he suffered from a hard fall against the Hawks.

(Munford played with gusto in the last Throwdown.) 

Players to Watch

Xavier Munford
Import guard Munford has been putting up serious numbers over the recent stretch and has proved a handful for every team the Phoenix has played — even if it hasn’t resulted in positives in the wins column. Munford is best when he is aggressive getting into the lane and confident taking the three-ball. He has done both well in recent times and gets a chance to go head-to-head with some of the best wing defenders in the game.

Shea Ili
The unsung defender has been a productive player on the offensive end off the bench for United this season and played a key role in the win over Perth. He also put in a season-high 19 points the last time these two teams met. Ili will get a job on Munford and Phoenix will need to curb the influence of United’s bench mob to ensure victory.

Last 5
Phoenix: LLWLL
United: WWW

The Stats

Phoenix
Points: M Creek, 21.04ppg
Rebounds: Q Zhou, 7rpg
Assists: X Munford, 3.81apg
Blocks: Qi Zhou, 2.05bpg
Steals: R Broekhoff, 1.56spg

United
Points: Lual-Acuil Jr, 16.68ppg
Rebounds: Lual-Acuil Jr, 9rpg
Assists: Dellavedova, 5.17apg
Blocks: Lual-Acuil Jr, 2.14bpg
Steals: Agada, 1.33spg

(Zhou dunking in Throwdown XV.)

The History
Regular season Head-to-Head: 4 - 8 
South East Melbourne Phoenix – Melbourne United

Last time out:
South East Melbourne Phoenix 90-98 Melbourne United

The Numbers

Phoenix
Creek: 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists
Munford: 24 points, five rebounds, three assists
Zhou: 16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks

United
Dellavedova: 22 points, four assists
Ili: 19 points, five assists, two steals
Goulding: 16 points, seven rebounds

Recap

It’s been less than a month since these two teams met in front of a raucous crowd of more than 8000 at John Cain Arena. It was a classic clash, but one the Phoenix will feel they should have won after leading by double digits in the last quarter, only to watch United reel them in.

Mitch Creek produced a brilliant all-round performance, pouring in a game-high 27 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. The guard war was a special one, with Xavier Munford making hay with 24 points on one side, while Matthew Dellavedova and Shea Ili paced their team with 22 and 19 points respectively.

Big Zhou Qi put in one of his better performances in lazer green, his 16-point, 12-rebound double-double was laced with three big blocks on the defensive end. The Phoenix loss was compounded by Ryan Broekhoff’s injury in a collision with Dellavedova. South East Melbourne will be looking to make a better memory out of Thursday night’s clash.

(Izaya Le'afa celebrating in front of the Phoenix fans.)

Quotes

"We need to rise to the challenge of the physicality required. When they apply the defensive pressure, we need to keep our minds and be able to execute under that duress."
-Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell on what needs to happen for his team to defeat United.

“This is a big time to come together as a team, you know we dropped two, two that we should have won at home. It's the crunch time and we got to put our foot down and stay together and come out with wins to stay onn top."
—United player Shea Ili on the team's run home before finals.

CLICK HERE to secure your ticket to Throwdown XVI

Phoenix Media (6/4/22)