A Wild Ride: Perth Finals Bound?

Saturday, January 21, 2023

It’s official. The Perth Wildcats are back.

A win against the Sydney Kings on Friday night sent a message to the rest of the league – this team is dangerous, and you don’t want to be facing them come finals time.

Three straight victories has John Rillie’s team in fourth place, even on win percentage with the New Zealand Breakers.

They’ve got tough games to come – South East Melbourne, an in-form Illawarra, Tasmania, Cairns, and the Kings again to finish NBL23, but the Wildcats are well an truly hitting their straps.

“All week we’ve just been talking about ‘you’re never going to play a perfect game, but you can’t have multiple mistakes that can compound’,” Rillie said.

“I think tonight was our best collection of moving onto the next play, staying composed and pushing through.

“I like where we’re heading … I think we’ve still got room to improve, keep getting better.”

In front of more than 13,000 fans at RAC Arena, the Perth/Sydney clash was one of the finest of the season sao far.

Both sides has periods of brilliance, but it was the home team’s 35-point final quarter and a 17-0 run, that ultimately proved the difference.

“When we play with a nice pace about ourselves and share the ball, we’re a good offensive team,” Rillie said.

“We still have some possessions where we massage the ball a little bit too much for my liking, but when we move it and get it into the paint … everyone benefits when we move the ball with a great pace.

“We’re playing well, but with how we started off the season, if we have a hiccup we’re not out of it yet.”

The Wildcats have welcomed valuable contributions from all of their key players – right now they’re a well-rounded unit.

Brady Manek (21 points), Bryce Cotton (21), TaShawn Thomas (20) and Corey Webster (18) all lit up the scoreboard, while Luke Travers and Jesse Wagstaff were just as vital off the bench.

The key now though - not getting ahead of themselves.

“Coach was talking about not getting happy about where we’re at. I feel like I’m one of the biggest people in the team right now just trying to vocalise that,” Thomas said.

“We’re feeling good. Communication’s been there. A lot of the stuff we were complaining about at the beginning of the season is starting to get fixed. We’re trusting the process and it’s all coming together. Everyone’s feeling good right now.”

Perth now travels to Victoria for a huge clash against fellow finals contender, South East Melbourne, on Sunday afternoon.