BASKETBALL
NBL
By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
THE Phoenix rise again in the Valley.
South East Melbourne Phoenix and Brisbane Bullets arrived into Gippsland Regional Indoor Basketball Stadium (GRISS) on Saturday night for the NBL’s fourth successive regular season bout in front of a sold-out and amped crowd.
Despite a blowout score in the end that read 105 to 86 in favour of the Phoenix, the game featured plenty of runs from both sides and as many moments of fierce energy that kept spectators enthralled by the contest.
In what was fitted as a basketball festiva, the game brought a professional sporting match down to the region while also offering all that is catered for at a regular metropolitan game.
Heading into GRISS, there was plenty going on before even getting to your seat.
Pregame entertainments were many and setup on the old main courts of the Traralgon Basketball Stadium included players available for meet and greets and jumping castles spread out for the kids.
By the time the game was ready to start, the roof was shaking with energy, however, also due to the sweeping changes in weather conditions at the weekend, conditions within the four walls of the show court were increasingly noticeable.
The visiting Brisbane Bullets raised concerns regarding the safety of the venue prior to the game and the elevated chances of players sustaining injuries due to the precipitation that could possibly be created on the floor from the humid weather.
Unfortunately, Bullets coach Justin Schueller may have been right with his concerns as three of his men went down with injuries throughout Saturday night’s proceedings, with star Josh Bannan (knee), Emmett Naar (oblique) and Deng Adel (groin) all suffering.
“That’s just a frustration right now that we need to get some answers on… obviously a humid, rainy day down here, the aircons definitely didn’t get on early enough and the surface was slippery, we identified that before the game,” Schueller said postgame.
This has now registered the Brisbane coach unable to answer if they’ll be able to field a side next round, with players already missing with injury prior to the game in Traralgon.
Nonetheless, the game was a cracking showcase between two sides eyeing a finals berth, with Brisbane just a game back of the Phoenix for fifth place.
The Bullets ran out of the gate hot with a six-point lead off the back of Bannan and plenty of collective deep-range shots to start the affair.
Phoenix forward Matthew Hurt was prepared to put the team on his back by scoring the opening 11 points of the game, and made up for some early jiffs from the rest of the squad.
It was a bit of a brick-fest either way for a majority of the opening quarter, with many jump shots going awry but a final pull up three-pointer from Bullets guard Keandre Cook kept them in front 21-17 come the first break in play.
Despite the Phoenix making up for their early blip and getting right back into it, they would be without the services of guard Derrick Walton Jr for the rest of the night after suffering a second hamstring injury on the season.
Walton Jr had previously played for the Sydney Kings in a prior Gippsland showcase against the Phoenix in 2022 that went into double overtime and is widely considered to be one of the greatest NBL games ever played.
Hurt continued on his unbeaten run to open the second term, finding baskets inside and out, while Bannan and the Bullets maintained their lead and pushed it to double digits midway through.
Veteran guard Nathan Sobey (Phoenix) finally came alive and knocked down a huge three that would begin to turn the tide for Gippsland’s own NBL side – with the crowd being heard after every bucket and stop that went in favour of the Phoenix, a loud roar and applause erupted the stadium.
Another moment that was equally electric was from young Phoenix player Owen Foxwell, who pressed hard in the front court and poked the ball loose from Brisbane’s Mitch Norton and dove onto the floor forcing a turnover.
Sobey then hit back-to-back-to-back threes in the final two minutes of the first half and gave South East Melbourne the necessary lift and momentum to carry over into the last stretch.
Hurt and Sobey again ignited to begin the third quarter, making practically all of the Phoenix’s buckets, coming in many ways more than one.
Sobey broke the game open with a tough drive to the basket that gave the Phoenix their first lead of the night, from which they never really looked back.
The final term belonged to forward Joe Wieskamp, who rose from an admitted slump to nail some impressive shots and played some equally impressive defence, which added to a match-winning quarter for the Phoenix.
South East Melbourne outscored Brisbane by 18 points in the last quarter and 26 in the second half, giving them time to celebrate their seventh victory in a row in front of 3000 people universally in their corner.
Hurt finished with 32 points, missing just four shots, while Sobey (31) knocked in seven threes and Wieskemp added 16 in support.
Phoenix coach Josh King credited his team’s fightback to the spark that was generated from the enthusiastic fans in a compact and intense home environment in Traralgon.
“In the first half, we didn’t give them much to cheer about with our energy but once they got going, once we performed the way we’re supposed to and we got them involved it really pushed us over the top and the crowd was tremendous tonight,” he said.
Similarly, Wieskamp has played college basketball for a big program in Iowa and noticed likenesses to the relationship between the crowd and the players from his time in the US.
“I thought it was a fun atmosphere, obviously they showed out (and) provided some energy for us especially in that fourth quarter. It’s always fun to play in front of a sold-out crowd,” he said.
South East Melbourne Phoenix have locked into a two-year continued partnership with Latrobe City, and will feature in another regular season match at GRISS during the next NBL season.
