Mitchell Praises "Exceptional" Te Rangi

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell has heaped praise on forward Reuben Te Rangi following the team’s 20-point win in Cairns last night.

Te Rangi started at small forward and scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting including two triples.

His eight first-quarter points set the tone early in the night and ultimately gave the team a comfortable lead they clung to for the remainder of the contest to snap a three-game losing streak.

His work on the defensive end was as stellar as always, showing his versatility guarding the likes of 185cm Scott Machado and 209cm Nate Jawai.

“I thought he was probably player of the game,” Mitchell said post-game.

(Te Rangi has been a huge reason behind the Phoenix's improved defence this year)

“I thought he was fantastic. His efforts on Scott Machado to blanket him were great. He also had to switch out on Nate Jawai and his ability to tackle Nate down there was really strong to fight over some strong post-ups.

“I just thought he was exceptional.

“On top of that, his defence created offensive momentum for him. He’s in really good defensive form and it transferred to the other end with eight points in the first quarter to help kickstart us.

“That’s what Reuben’s definitely capable of. We need that from him and we need it more regularly than we’ve had it recently but he’s been a great guy around the club and a great pickup for us.

“What we saw tonight is what he does exceptionally well.”

It was a wild weekend for the Phoenix, who until late Friday evening were preparing to travel to Brisbane to face the Bullets.

COVID-19 impacts in Perth saw a schedule change to Cairns, giving the team just a day to get ready for a new opponent.

It was a challenge overcome in fine style, starting on a 18-2 run and shooting 52 per cent from the field over the course of the game.

Cam Gliddon starred with 22 points on 9-14 shooting against his former club and was aided by solid contributions from Te Rangi (13 points), Adnam (12) and Creek (11).

“We know this year is not a normal season,” Mitchell said.

“We were in lockdown for seven months so we’ve just talked about getting our head down and ploughing through anything that comes our way so from a preparation standpoint it was just more of that.”

Adam Gibson added: “We’ve been playing some pretty good basketball for most of the season outside of that little slump.

(Gibson is a vocal leader on and off the court as co-captain of the Phoenix)

“We got back to the little things that require effort not skill and I think that was massive – picking up the ball, bumping cutters, just playing aggressive. We showed what we can do when we play that way.”

Gibson played 21 minutes and scored four points in his 450^th NBL game.

After an outpouring of love from the Aussie hoops community in the lead-up to the night, the veteran guard was overcome with emotion post-game.

“It’s been quite surreal,” Gibson said.

“I’ve got a bunch of messages still to reply to but to get messages from former coaches, players, management, friends, families, supporters, opponents has been pretty surreal - just to see those messages come through and see how many people you impact.

“I’m just playing the game I love and have been lucky enough to do it for 16 years. I’m loving every moment.”

The Phoenix host Brisbane on Thursday night at John Cain Arena, where Adam Gibson's milestone will be celebrated pre-game in front of the home crowd.

TICKETS VS BRISBANE

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (26/04/2021)