NBL21 Pre-Season Wrap

South East Melbourne Phoenix have completed a successful string of pre-season performances over the last month to set up a promising second season in the NBL.

Two official pre-season fixtures against the Brisbane Bullets plus closed doors scrimmages against cross-town rivals Melbourne United and heavyweights New Zealand Breakers have put the team in a strong position to attack NBL21 from the first tip off.

A clean bill of health, a three-game winning streak to finish, and impressive performances from a number of players including newcomers Reuben Te Rangi and Yanni Wetzell in key roles were highlights of the contests.

Mitch Creek continued his dominant form and reminded the NBL of his incredible skillset, while Kyle Adnam followed his strong off-season training with stellar performances, becoming a lead scoring threat on the team.

(Kyle Adnam starred in pre-season)

Cam Gliddon found his groove in the side as the games wore on and imports Ben Moore and Keifer Sykes both made instant impacts after joining the squad in late December.

Assistant coach Judd Flavell says the team is finding form at the right time as they prepare to face Adelaide on Saturday night.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth from game one against Melbourne United when it was our first time on the floor together as a team and we were very rusty,” Flavell said.

“We’ve made small strides every single game. We’ve obviously added the two imports who weren’t there for the first few games, but just the more time we’ve had playing together, you can just see the chemistry start to develop.

“The other night (against NZ) we put in a great team performance. Sometimes you don’t get to that stage in pre-season but I felt like the scoreline was a good reflection of how well the guys played on the defensive end – we were all on the same page, which is something you strive for as a coaching staff.”

The Phoenix went 3-0 since import duo Keifer Sykes and Ben Moore joined the team and Flavell says that’s no coincidence.

“They’ve both got key attributes that will really help us significantly, in particular on the defensive end. They’re prepared to put their body on the line and they’ve acclimatised so easily,” he said.

“We’ve got no troubles scoring the ball but we’ve always been striving to make steps of improvement on the defensive end and these two have really been able to find their way with us and help us achieve that.

“I think they’re going to continue getting better and better with more time.”

With a road trip to start a uniquely lengthy season for the team, Flavell says their spread of talent will be a key to making a finals push.

“We’ve had somebody different in every game that’s stood up and taken their opportunities.

“We’ve got a group of guys who are willing to play together, be unselfish and play hard. No one’s got an issue with rolling their sleeves up and getting their hands dirty.”

 

Pre-Season Wrap:

*stats not recorded for certain games

 

December 14 - State Basketball Centre

SEM Phoenix 88

Melbourne United 110

 

December 18 – Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre

SEM Phoenix 98

Brisbane Bullets 108

Creek: 31pts 7reb 4ast 2stl

Adnam: 26pts 2ast 1stl

Wetzell: 20pts 6reb 3ast 2stl

 

December 20 – Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre

SEM Phoenix 100

Brisbane Bullets 102

Creek: 29pts 10reb 5ast

Adnam: 18pts 5reb 6ast

Gliddon: 17pts 3ast 4stl

Te Rangi: 16pts 3reb 1blk

 

December 30 – State Basketball Centre

SEM Phoenix 92

New Zealand Breakers 71

Moore: 19pts

Adnam: 19pts

Creek: 15pts

Wetzell: 13pts

Sykes: 11pts

 

January 3 – Kingsborough Sports Centre, Hobart

SEM Phoenix 101

New Zealand Breakers 99

 

January 7 – Kingsborough Sports Centre, Hobart

SEM Phoenix 96

New Zealand Breakers 63

Creek: 22pts 3reb 1ast 2stl

Adnam: 17pts 3reb 1ast

Te Rangi: 15pts 8reb 1ast 3stl

Moore: 15pts 3reb 2stl

Sykes: 9pts 2reb 6ast 1stl

 

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Phoenix Media (11/01/2021)