Phoenix Fail to Shake Off the Rust

A 28 day break between games proved too much for the Phoenix to overcome against the Brisbane Bullets.

From the tip off it was clear the disrupted break that saw players in and out of isolation had left the Phoenix out of sync at both the offensive and defensive end.

Sluggish out of gates they managed to score just 6 points in the first quarter to the Bullets' 31. In one positive for Phoenix fans their team did match the home side losing the second quarter by 3, wining the 3rd by 2, holding their own but never really making inroads into the Bullets first quarter lead.

That was  until the final stanza which saw the visiting team outscore the Bullets 31 - 21 to eventually go down by 16.

THE RESULT

Brisbane Bullets 100-82 South East Melbourne Phoenix.

THE NUMBERS

Phoenix

Mitch Creek 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
Xavier Munford 17 points, 10 rebounds
Ryan Broekhoff 13 points
Kyle Adnam 13 points

Bullets

Nathan Sobey 18 points
Robert Franks 17 points, 10 rebounds

THE TURNING POINT

The opening quarter saw the Phoenix shoot 11% from the field and 0% from 3 going 0-8. At the other end Brisbane shot 50% from 3 and 53% from the field,  taking a 31-6 lead into quarter time.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

While the Phoenix tried hard all game they just didn’t have the legs. Mitch Creek was the standout, playing  36:58 minutes and putting up a team high 19 points,  8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Highlights were few and far between for the boys from the South East, but Kyle Adnam's coast to coast buzzer beater to beat the clock at the end of the third stood out.

FROM THE COACH

Simon Mitchell

"It (Covid disruptions) had to contribute, it looked like we were stuck in mud. We rotated quickly but the bench looked like they were in mud as well. Brisbane were very good, they cut us to pieces.

"We haven’t been able to get up and down the floor with our group, we needed to use the time wisely to blow out some cobwebs."

FROM THE PLAYER

Ryan Broekhoff

"It took me a while to get going, after a week at home, I started to come good in the second half. It seemed most of the team had a better second half and started to find their legs."

Phoenix Media (15/1/22)