Phoenix Bite Back At Wildcats

Chalk up two in a row for the Phoenix as they bounced back from their last clash with the Perth Wildcats with a thrilling six-point win in their annual Starlight Game that raised important funds for the children’s charity.

It was all a bit ugly early, with shot clock issues twice forcing a stoppage in play. But Phoenix broke the first quarter open with threes to Izayah Le’afa in transition and then Xavier Munford off the dribble, forcing Perth coach Scott Morrison to call time. Game-high scorer Kyle Adnam added another three after the time-out to make it 18-8 and the Phoenix were rolling.

Ryan Broekhoff’s hustle was a feature. At one point on consecutive plays, he had an offensive rebound that created a bucket for Mitch Creek, a steal that set up the Le’afa trey and then great D forcing a turnover that had the Phoenix going the other way.

Perth got a couple of buckets back, but Phoenix still enjoyed a six-point lead at the first break. The Wildcats went small and 216cm Zhou baptised 203cm Jesse Wagstaff – who was immediately subbed out of the game for 211cm Hodgson, that pair producing a fun battle to watch.

(Munford passing the ball.)

Rowdy then got the shooter’s roll on a three point try and the Phoenix had a double-digit lead again, 34-24.

Vic Law was keeping them in the game, though, with a game-high 13 points.

Te Rangi hit a pair of three-pointers and then Izayah Le’afa scored five straight — a three off the dribble, before a pretty step back jumper from the left elbow to put the Phoenix up 14, Morrison calling his boys in for another reset.

Eight players made a bucket in the first half for Phoenix, led by Le’afa, Te Rangi and Adnam with eight each and, most importantly, Wildcats’s superstar Bryce Cotton had not made a bucket.

(Le'afa passing the ball.)

The Phoenix have had their lapses in recent games and they allowed the Wildcats back into it, Cotton getting himself going with a three and three free throws to help trim the lead to three, before Mitch Creek pulled up at the buzzer to make it 62-57 at the final break — he had a foot on the line.
Creek went back to work, making the first bucket of the last quarter, a sweet turnaround to extend the margin.

But the Wildcats kept plugging away. Cotton said before the game he expected a dogfight, and so it was, the two teams trading blow after blow.
When Cotton found Todd Blanchfield for three, the scores were locked at 80 with 1.29 left.

Adnam hit two free throws with 44.1 left to make it 82-80.
Blanchfield missed another try and the rebound was ripped down by Brandon Ashley, who was fouled with 31 seconds left.

(Creek going for a lay up.)

Nothing came of the next play for South East Melbourne, but Cotton missed a three and the Phoenix were awarded the ball after the refs went to the replay centre. Foul game from there as Adnam made two with 12.6 left to make it 84-80 and then Brandon Ashley iced it at the end with two of his own.

The Phoenix, who remain second on the NBL ladder, won’t hit the court again until next Friday night in Adelaide, before a return to the Fire Pit to host Illawarra next Sunday.

The Result
South East Melbourne Phoenix 86-80 Perth Wildcats

The Numbers

Phoenix
Adnam: 24 points, 4 assists
Creek: 22 points
Le’afa: 12 points, 4 assists
Broekhoff: 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals

Wildcats
Law: 22 points, 9 rebounds
Cotton: 15 points, 5 assists

(Adnam celebrating during the Wildcats game.)

The Turning Point
Kyle Adnam’s three, then driving layup
Wild Kyle twice made it a nine-point game late in the fourth as he first pulled up for a nothing-but-net three, then scythed through the Wildcats defence to produce an acrobatic finish on the very next trip up the floor. It was vital — the Cats came back with force to even the game up

The Player of the Game

Kyle Adnam
Wild Kyle had a monster. Especially in the last where he poured in 13 of his game-high 24 points to will his team to victory. As Perth pressed hard, Adnam was there to bury his free throws and bury the Cats.

(Broekhoff in action against the Wildcats.)

The Play of the Game

Ryan Broekhoff’s Corner Three
Broekhoff’s three in the corner with 3.33 to go in the third pushed the lead back out to seven. It was the prettiest moment of the game. Pure basketball. The ball came out of the post from Mitch Creek, who had turned into a double from his blindside. He hit Adnam, who swung it to Le’afa who made the extra pass to Rowdy — the ball was always going in from there. Rhythm and beauty.

From the Coach
“Yeah, he’s fantastic. Our team’s a bit of horses for courses and it’s going to be someone’s night any given situation. Just his poise down the stretch was really good for us and I love his defensive work as well.”
-Simon Mitchell on Kyle Adnam’s clutch performance

From the Player
“Just overall great effort, obviously defensively in the first half is something that we spoke about coming in that we needed to hang our hats on and i thought, first half, we were great at that end. Second half we missed a few things, here and there but to beat a team like Perth and how they’ve been rolling, it as a big win for us, definitely.
-Kyle Adnam on the win over Perth

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Phoenix Media (26/2/22)