Phoenix Fire Up For First Win

South East Melbourne Phoenix has reignited the Firepit in the best way possible with a dominant win over the New Zealand Breakers to open their NBL22 campaign.

In front of fans at John Cain Arena for the first time in more than 200 days, the Phoenix’s stifling defence held New Zealand to 23 points - the equal-lowest first-half score in the Breakers’ history.

Defence was the name of the game for both teams in the first quarter as they locked into a dour dog fight, hard-working Dane Pineau keeping a number of Phoenix possessions alive with his nose for the offensive glass. 
The first quarter ended with the Phoenix holding a narrow lead, 17-11, but that’s when the fireworks really started.

Powered by new import point guard Xavier Munford and hard man Mitch Creek the Phoenix offence clicked into gear, pouring in 27 points in the second quarter, while towering Chinese recruit Zhou Qi helped shut the Breakers down at the other end to hold them to just 12 points.

Zhou received a warm welcome from fans during the dramatic Firepit pre-game introductions and was compelling viewing every time he stepped on the floor, altering Breakers’ shots on the defensive end and using his remarkable 216cm frame to overpower his opponents in the paint.

The Phoenix took a 44-23 lead into the second half and never took the foot off the pedal, running away with a 24-point win.

Munford continuing his damaging shooting, ending with a game-high 27 points - including four three-pointers. He was complemented by Creek’s 19 and a trio of threes from Cam Gliddon in his first NBL game since offseason hip surgery.

Kyrin Galloway - matched up with Qi for most of his stints on the floor - tried his best to fly the flag for New Zealand with 10 points and 6 boards, while star forward Finn Delany led the way with 18 and 9.

The two teams won’t have long before they meet again, another clash at The Firepit set for Friday.

The Result:
South East Melbourne Phoenix 89-65 New Zealand Breakers 

The Numbers:

Phoenix

Xavier Munford 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Mitch Creek 19 points
Cam Gliddon 9 points
Zhou Qi 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks
Dane Pineau 7 rebounds (5 offensive)

Breakers 

Finn Delany 18 points, 9 rebounds
Peyton Siva 11 points
Hugo Besson 10 points
Kyrin Galloway 10 points, 6 rebounds

The turning point:

An 8-0 run to start the second quarter put South East Melbourne on the path to victory and that was punctuated by another 8-0 streak that sent them into the long break brimming with confidence.

The Player of the Game:
Xavier Munford
In his NBL debut, Xavier Munford showed off his full repertoire, penetrating the Breakers defence, pulling up for deep threes and setting the table for his teammates. He used his superior length to be a pest on the defensive end 

The Play of the Game:
Take your pick from Munford. X-Man was red hot from the outside, but perhaps his four point play with a tick over six minutes to go in the third quarter was the dagger in The Heartland for the Breakers, extending the lead to 22 points.

From the coach:
“From a team standpoint, I’m really pleased. Defensive intensity was good, rim protection was greater, active hands, deflections, all the things you ask for from your basketball team and they produced that tonight, so I’m pretty pleased.”
-Simon Mitchell 

From the player:
“It’s slowly coming together. Tonight it was a great atmosphere and I had a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot guys, I love playing with Dane (Pineau), he keeps possessions alive he works hard, sets good screens, you got (Mitch) Creeky out there doing what Creeky does, just a great group of guys. The fans were great, they brought a lot of excitement and a lot of fire, it’s been a year since I played in front of some fans so it was just great to be able to do that.” 
-Xavier Munford