Musashi Match Report: Bullets Fire in Win Over Phoenix

The Brisbane Bullets faced a must-win scenario against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday night, and Andrej Lemanis’ side responded with aplomb led by Lamar Patterson in the eventual 94-82 victory.

The Bullets produced a gutsy, backs-and-against-the-wall performance at John Cain Arena on Thursday night to improve to an 11-13 record with their playoff hopes remaining intact. 

It was an effort befitting their 1995 Heritage Round jersey – honouring the golden days of Leroy Loggins and Shane Heal – as they downed a favoured South East Melbourne Phoenix side by 12 points.

Brisbane raced out to a 22-15 lead at the first break, which came largely due to some superb play from their marquee man Lamar Patterson, and in a small part due to the Phoenix’s ice-cold shooting. South East Melbourne shot 5/24 at quarter-time, equating to 20 per cent shooting from the field. 

Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the night was a scary collision in the second quarter that saw Phoenix’ star Ryan Broekhoff hit by a stray Nathan Sobey elbow, which didn’t appear intentional. 

It did force Broekhoff to retreat to the locker-room while the referees assessed the replays for flagrant. Broekhoff did not return in the match due to blurred vision. 

His absence did not help the Phoenix’s shooting slump. However, it did thankfully tick up to 28 per cent by half-time. Considering these issues, it was remarkable that the Phoenix were within two points of the Bullets (36-34) at half-time.

And when spark plug point-guard Kyle Adnam opened the second half with a three-pointer, the Phoenix hit the lead. 

The deficit inspired the Bullets’ sharp-shooter Sobey, who made a trio of three pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Warrnambool-born Boomer finished with 20 points on 6/13 shooting. Similarly, the Bullets’ Anthony Drmic produced his first 11 points of the game in the third quarter, on his way to 15 for the match. 

It was enough to hand the Bullets a 69-59 lead at the end of the third quarter. It would have been more if not for a last-second bucket from the Phoenix’s Yanni Wetzell (six points, six rebounds), which you sensed kept the Phoenix just within sight. 

But strong fourth quarters from Phoenix’s New Zealand-born pair Reuben Te Rangi (12 points, three assists) and Izayah Le'Afa (nine points, four assists) weren’t enough, as South East Melbourne failed to overcome the double-figure lead. They would go down by a dozen points, 94 to 82. 

Dogged by questions about his fitness, Patterson silenced his doubters again with a strong showing. He finished with a game-high 27 points and seven, and also stood up in the fourth when Phoenix showed flickers of life. 

The Bullets will be raring to go in 48 hours against the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre while the Phoenix will enjoy a nine-day break until a Throwdown with Melbourne United next Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 16

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 82 (Moore 18, Gliddon 17, Te Rangi 12)

BRISBANE BULLETS 94 (Patterson 27, Sobey 20, Drmic 15) 

Written by NBL.com.au (29/04/2021)