Musashi Match Report: Double OT Thriller in Adelaide

South East Melbourne Phoenix’s NBL21 campaign started in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday afternoon in Adelaide, going down 116-108 to the 36ers in a double overtime thriller.

The city of churches rung the final bell three times before the two teams could be separated, as a Josh Giddey-inspired 36ers run in the second overtime period clinched victory for the home side.

The 36ers looked like running away with the win on multiple occasions before the relentless Phoenix clawed their way back to force the extra 10 minutes of play away from home.

Phoenix debutants Yanni Wetzell and Keifer Sykes starred for their new team, both making clutch plays down the stretch and having a huge impact over the afternoon.

(Keifer Sykes caused problems for Adelaide on both ends of the floor)

Wetzell’s 24 points and 10 rebounds made him the first local player to register over 20 points and 10 rebounds on debut in the NBL since 2007, while Sykes’ 11 assists were the most by a league debutant since 1992.

Head Coach Simon Mitchell spoke glowingly of Wetzell’s debut post-game.

“A guy in his first professional game, he’s going to be a hell of a player. I know there’s a lot of love for the Next Stars and all that but throw his name in the ring for Rookie of the Year as well, he’s going to be right there,” he said.

“He’s just scratching the surface as a kid who came late to the game. He’s a great kid, very coachable, going to do wonderful things.

“I think he’s another guy in the NBL who we’ll see in the next level at some stage.”

Mitch Creek also put in a dominant performance for the Phoenix with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

The superstar was lauded as a potential NBL MVP this season by media experts earlier in the week and lived up to the lofty expectations against his former side.

Kyle Adnam and Cam Gliddon both contributed 14 points. Ben Moore experienced early foul trouble in his NBL debut and will look to feature more prominently on Wednesday night when the two teams face off again.

Poor shooting from distance (8-30 from three) and the free throw line (22-36) potentially cost the Phoenix the victory.

“We had a rough one tonight, I thought we looked a little rusty, particularly at the offensive end,” Simon Mitchell said.

“I thought we had an extraordinarily rough night shooting. We left a lot of points at the free throw line and had some really good looks behind the arc early, and those are shots I expect my team to make.

“We’ve got a little bit of work to do.”

The Phoenix get an opportunity to bounce back against the 36ers in Adelaide on Wednesday night, before travelling to Perth to play the Wildcats on Sunday.

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (17/01/2021)