Phoenix Down In-Form JackJumpers

It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. South East Melbourne has worked its way through a plucky Tasmania outfit with a win at John Cain Arena.

It was, by no means, easy but the return of coach Simon Mitchell to the sidelines and captain Kyle Adnam to the court proved the spur the Phoenix needed to bounce back from a tough loss to Sydney.

In a brilliant first half, Ryan Broekhoff continued his hot form, keeping the Phoenix in touch with the JackJumpers as they took a 40-38 lead into the main break.

(Zhou Qi with the assistance of Brandon Ashley dominated the height game.)

And then, in the second half, it was a sick Mitch Creek who stood up to the task. Creek, crook with gastro, got everything out of himself that he could, 11 of his 15 points coming after the halftime break, including eight in the last when the game was there to be won.

Adnam was vital in his return to the court after missing the past couple in Covid protocols, getting to his spots and taking and making the midrange stuff that he has built a career on. If he had been sick, it didn’t show, the little maestro handing out five assists to go with his 13 points.

With Will Magnay out for the JackJumpers, the Phoenix exploited a distinct height advantage, towering Zhou Qi and support big man Brandon Ashley combining for 21 points and nine rebounds.

The win is a nice bounce back and great preparation for a massive clash on Thursday night in the Throwdown with cross-town rival Melbourne United.

(Lachlan Barker again was massive in helping Phoenix over the line.)

The Result

South East Melbourne Phoenix 83-71 Tasmania JackJumpers

The Numbers

Phoenix
Broekhoff: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals
Creek: 15 points, 5 rebounds
Adnam: 13 points, 5 assists
Zhou: 11 points, 7 rebounds
Ashley: 10 points

JackJumpers
Adams: 23 points
Magette: 10 points

(Creek's two threes provided the win against the JackJumpers.)

The Turning Point

Creek’s back-to-back threes half way through the last quarter effectively put the game to bed. The JackJumpers had reduced the margin to four at the time, but a loose ball spilled out to Creek, who made no mistake from the outside. Adams went down the other end and converted an and-one, but, on the very next play, Creek was there again to re-establish the seven-point gap.

The Player of the Game

Tie it up between Creek and Broekhoff
Confidence is oozing out of Rowdy’s pores at the moment and he is loving life on the basketball court. He’s so hungry for rebounds, he ripped down another eight tonight and continued to get to the foul line — 11 times, making 10 — for his game-high 18 points. Creek was clearly sick, subbed himself out in the third and then came back in the fourth and made hay with the Tasmania defence. A brilliant, gutsy effort.

(Broekhoff had another stand-out game.)

The Play of the Game

Kyle Adnam’s inbound pass to Izayah Le’afa thanks to brilliant vision from Kyle Adnam. Wild Kyle took the inbound from the baseline and flung a brilliant cross-court pass to Zay in the corner, who rose up and splashed it down. He was 0-10 last game and missed his first two shots in this one, but that was the perfect remedy. To top things off, the do-it-all guard went back up the other end and took a team-lifting charge on Josh Adams.

From the Coach

“I thought we were pretty impressive for the most part, disciplined, a couple of breakdowns, but I thought, overall, we did a pretty good job on (Clint) Steindl, I thought Kizza (Adnam) was great on Magette and I just thought, from a defensive standpoint, we were pretty solid. We’ve still got room to improve, but the wins they’ve been putting together and the way they’ve done it, I think we took them out of what they’d been doing in those wins.”
—Simon Mitchell on his satisfaction with his team’s performance.

(Head Coach Simon return to coaching after being in Covid protocols.)

From the Player

“I thought it’s actually been really positive, it’s frustrating watching from home, no doubt, but positive from the aspect of we had guys step up, fit in seamlessly with our group. You put them out there, guys like Lachie (Barker), who come in and just make plays. I think that’s a credit to the group, the way we handle ourselves, our culture in a way, that guys can fit in seamlessly in this roster.”
—Kyle Adnam puts a positive spin on the Phoenix’s Covid issues.

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Phoenix Media (13/2/22)