Musashi Match Report: Phoenix Claim First Finals Win

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have lived up to their name, rising from the ashes to claim Game 2 of their semi-final series against crosstown rivals Melbourne United 90-79 at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday.

After being thrashed 96-78 in Game 1, most pundits didn't give the Phoenix much hope of turning things around on the neutral court in Sydney. 

But Mitch Creek (26 points, four rebounds, two assists) had other ideas as he hauled his team onto his back and carried them into Tuesday's deciding semi-final for a chance at a place in the NBL Grand Final.

"It was just a good win. I loved the endeavour of the guys tonight, it was poles apart from where we were last game," Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell said post-game.

"It's important we found our feet and what is required to play succesful playoff basketball. We did it with a defensive intensity, we did it on the boards, we chased down loose balls and we fought and scrapped."

While Creek was sublime, the defensive effort of the Phoenix was what got the job done. They bled 50 points in the first half and miraculously stayed within four points despite going 1/17 from the three-point arc. 

The second half was a different story, lockdown defence restricting the prolific United roster to just 29 points, a game-changing effort.

The foul count was high and high-profile recruit Jock Landale was forced into an early shower in the fourth quarter which helped the Phoenix, but it is unlikely even the Australian Boomer could have done much to stop the 12-0 final quarter run that sealed the result.

Import Keifer Sykes (26 points, four assists) was also instrumental in the rampage, connecting with long-range shots when it counted down the stretch. 

Yanni Wetzell was sublime in his showdown with Landale as the Kiwi finished with 20 points and eight boards. He helped restrict Landale to just five points while the fouls that limited him to 13 minutes had a big part in that too.

Coach Mitchell praised his rookie centre post-game.

"I've got to know this kid over the last nine months and you could see it in his face that it (game one) took its toll on him personally," Mitchell said.

"He just had that hardened look like a man ready to go. Even last night when we had a bit of a walk through, he couldn't wait to get going.

"For a rookie professional to come out and put that perfomance on a world class player is a pretty special moment and one I'm sure Yanni will always look back on through his career as being fairly pivotal."

The offensive weapons for United just couldn’t get going with Chris Goulding finishing with 14 points, but missing a litany of three-point shots that are his usual bread and butter. Scott Hopson paced all scorers for United with 19 while Mason Peatling and Jo Lual-Acuil had 11 each.

It was a win built totally on effort, though, as the Phoenix out-hustled their opposition in almost every facet in the do-or-die encounter.

The signs were ominous early as South East Melbourne struggled to penetrate on the offensive end while Goulding found his range right away to give United a 7-2 advantage.

Eventually, the persistence paid off for South East Melbourne, Landale picking up his second foul while Creek scored a vital bucket to bring them back to within four. Then, veteran, David Barlow picked up an unsportsmanlike foul the Phoenix was starting to get inside the heads of the United players.

Sykes eventually pushed his side ahead with a triple and the import was feeling it with United having no answer for his offensive flurry until a Hopson triple helped stem the bleeding and level the scores. 

It was a points frenzy and United had a slender 28-26 lead at the first break.

The Phoenix racked up five early fouls in the second term to put Melbourne in the bonus for the last seven minutes, with United slowly edged their way out to an eight-point lead before another Phoenix timeout. But South East Melbourne refused to say die. 

The Phoenix were doggedly hanging in the match and a late five-point run had them trailing by just four points at half-time.

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell was happy enough to be within four points but United threatened to skip clear but Sykes and Creek were having none of it. They earned the stops required and grafted their way back to within a single point. 

It wasn't long before they claimed the lead off the back of a 9-0 run.

A late Yudai Baba bomb pushed United out to a 70-66 again, but it was going to be a furious final quarter with everything on the line.

Sykes was demanding control of the game, though, putting Baba on his backside with a huge step and backing it up with a triple - their Achilles heel all night. Coming into the final five minutes, the scores were locked at 77-77.

The three-pointers had been scarce all match but the Phoenix were making hay when it mattered, Creek splashing a triple to give his side a five-point advantage - their biggest of the night.

From there, the afterburners were on, the Phoenix were rising and Creek let his opposition know that they would “see you in Game 3” on Tuesday night.

The winner of Game 3 will advance to the NBL Grand Final series.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL FINALS 2021
SEMI FINALS GAME 2

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 90 (Sykes 26, Creek 26, Wetzell 20)

MELBOURNE UNITED 79 (Hopson 19, Goulding 14, Lual-Acuil 11, Peatling 11) 

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Phoenix Media (13/06/2021)