Rollercoaster season has Phoenix ready to rise again

• South East Melbourne Phoenix will host the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday at John Cain Arena
• The winner will progress to face the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL Playoffs
• The Phoenix are looking to bounce back from a 122-105 loss to Perth
• Adelaide beat Sydney 95-88 on Thursday

NBL legend and South East Melbourne Phoenix assistant Sam Mackinnon is confident his team will answer the call as they prepare for a do-or-die clash with the Adelaide 36ers to keep their chances of a maiden NBL championship alive.

South East Melbourne will host the 36ers at John Cain Arena on Sunday with the winner to progress to a semi-finals series against minor premiers Illawarra Hawks.

But the Phoenix will need to bounce back after the Perth Wildcats completed a second half demolition job in their Seeding Qualifier in Perth on Tuesday night, coming back from a 67-62 deficit at halftime to record a 122-105 win.

The loss puts the season on the line for South East Melbourne but assistant coach Sam Mackinnon said the Phoenix were ready to respond.

“I know it’s an elimination game but we’re feeling really confident, we know we can perform better than we did against Perth and if you said at the start of the season we’d have a home game to make the final four, we would’ve taken it,” Mackinnon said.

“There’s obviously a lot we can do better than we did against the Wildcats, and it was a bit frustrating for both teams really that there wasn’t much freedom allowed with so many fouls, but that’s not an excuse.

“We’re not a team where one guy goes off and carries us to a win, we do it as a group with people contributing across the board, so we need everyone to step up and do a job on Sunday.

"Whether that's Matt Kenyon doing a job defensively, Jordy Hunter in the paint, Angus Glover getting going like he did against Perth, we need everyone to contribute."

The Phoenix face an Adelaide team high in confidence following a 95-88 away win over the Sydney Kings in the play-in elimination game on Thursday night but Josh King’s side have had the number of the 36ers, beating them both times under the new coach, including a 106-86 drubbing in an open air game at John Cain Arena in Round 13.

“Adelaide are a team with a lot of talent and we’ve had some good performances against them recently so I’m sure they’ll know that and want to change that,” Mackinnon said.

The Phoenix will need to do it without their star import point guard in Derrick Walton Jr, who is out with a hamstring injury, on Sunday but the 2023 NBL champion could make a return for the semi-finals if his team progress.            

“That’s the plan, just the work he’s doing behind the scenes, the load he’s putting through that hamstring at the moment, so hopefully we can get the job done to give him a chance to come back,” Mackinnon said.

If the Phoenix win on Sunday, both Melbourne teams will feature in the semi-finals, giving South East Melbourne the rare chance to outperform their crosstown rivals and be the best performing Victorian club in NBL25.

Ahead of Sunday’s elimination game, here are some key headlines for the Phoenix. 

The rollercoaster season has them ready to bounce back

If you said to everyone within the four walls at the Phoenix when they were 0-5, then parted ways with Mike Kelly, they would have a home game to reach a semi-finals series – they would’ve taken it with both hands, called you a liar and then bought a lotto ticket.

But that’s where they’re at and Sam Mackinnon believes it’s those ups and downs throughout the NBL25 campaign that gives him confidence in the group to get the job done against Adelaide on Sunday.

After their season was dwindling away following a winless start, the Phoenix turned it around, first under Mackinnon as interim coach going 3-1, including scalps over crosstown rivals Melbourne United before a complete rejuvenation under Josh King.

South East Melbourne have gone 13-7 since and become one of the best defensive teams in the NBL — an area that has been a major struggle ever since the Phoenix entered the competition. What makes it more impressive is they have done a lot of it without star import point guard Darrick Walton Jr, whose season has been riddled with injury.

“It’s been a major challenge for the boys, basically having three coaches and a lot of adversity to come back from,” Mackinnon said.

“But to be honest, that’s just what gives me great confidence in our group to bounce back from the loss to Perth and bounce back in front of our home fans on Sunday.

“This (adversity) is nothing new.”

Dominated on the boards

The Wildcats smashed the Phoenix on the glass in the Seeding Qualifier, winning the rebound count 58-34 as no one from South East Melbourne grabbed more than six boards.

And Mackinnon identified that as a big focus for the Phoenix on Sunday, even calling out two of South East Melbourne’s stars to step up in that area.

“Matt Hurt can’t have two rebounds and Jordy Hunter needs to play more than 13 minutes for us, it’s as simple as that. Obviously others can step up too but those two play a huge role in that area,” he said.

“Adelaide are a bit different to Perth just as far as their athleticism and how they go about it on the boards but they’re still very big and physical.”

Import Joe Wieskamp needs to fire for the Phoenix

Having one of your imports go without making a field goal in a Seeding Qualifier isn’t ideal but much like the team going through adversity, Mackinnon has the utmost confidence in Wieskamp to bounce back against the36ers.

The three-point marksmen scored just one point against the Wildcats, going 0-10 from the field and 0-7 from the three-point line.

But Mackinnon said Wieskamp’s ability to bounce back from struggles throughout the year has him ready to help lead the Phoenix to victory on Sunday. The 25-year-old forward had an inconsistent first half of the season, even receiving a DNP-Coach’s Decision under Josh King, but later on found his groove to play a crucial role in South East Melbourne’s rise to fourth on the ladder.

“It’s a challenge for him (Wieskamp), he’s young and it’s his first season out here as a pro but he’s handled every challenge that’s come his way this season and I have no doubt he’ll fire on Sunday,” Mackinnon said.

“It’s not just his shooting for us, he’s able to get to the rim, do a job defensively and be active so we need more out of him this weekend and I’m sure he’ll respond.”

Past Meetings with the Adelaide 36ers in NBL25

• Round 3 — Adelaide 36ers def SEM Phoenix 93-83 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre
• Round 13 — SEM Phoenix def Adelaide 36ers 106-86 at John Cain Arena
• Round 19 — SEM Phoenix def Adelaide 36ers 105-99 at John Cain Arena

It's been the guards from the Phoenix, who have dominated in their two wins over Adelaide, with Derrick Walton Jr scoring 28 points in Round 13 and former 36er Nathan Sobey having 26 points in Round 19.

Also factor in Adelaide's history at John Cain Arena after both stars Montrezl Harrell and Kendric Davis were suspended after an altercation with fans during a game against Melbourne United on November 17 at John Cain Arena.

The Phoenix will host the do-or-die Play-In elimination clash against the Adelaide 36ers at John Cain Arena this Sunday at 2.30pm(AEST). Tickets are still available at Ticketek.