Brisbane star dodges injury Bullet

Raul Neto lit the fuse, but it was the depth of the Brisbane Bullets that pleased coach Will Weaver most as they held off a fierce Perth Wildcats fightback at Nissan Arena on Wednesday night.

Neto was sensational in the first half, racking up 10 points and 8 assists as the Bullets piled on 63 points on 57 per cent shooting to lead by 20 at the main break. 

The Brazilian sat out the second half as a precaution, and while the lead stretched to 27 in the third term, Perth clawed all the way back to make it a two-point game 11 minutes later.

Brisbane found an answer when it mattered to close out a 109-104 win and improve to 6-5, despite again being without Arnas Velička, Jacob Holt, Sam McDaniel and Max Mackinnon, and losing Neto at half-time.

Nissan Arena was already the third Brisbane venue the Bullets have called home in NBL27, and Weaver loves that the club is taking its show to different parts of the city, bringing new faces on board and giving them a win to celebrate.

“I love that the southside got to come see us and I love that a bunch of new faces, and a bunch of consistent fans that have been with us the whole year, showed up to be loud and were here early and creating an incredible environment,” Weaver said.

“They stuck with us with the lead, losing the lead, closing it out at the end. It’s a lot of fun and I think the people felt that tonight, and this guy’s (Jaylin Williams) a big reason why.”

As for Neto, Weaver was adamant the Brazilian won’t be joining an injury list that is already substantial.

“It was just precaution,” Weaver said.

“He just felt a little bit of tightness and we don’t mess around with putting our players at risk, regardless of what the score is, it was just precautionary for sure.

“I just talked to him, he feels fine.”

Above all, Weaver is proudest of a group that refuses to make excuses and simply gets on with the job.

“I just think the depth of people that we have is what stands out, both the number of great basketball players and competitors, and staff members working their asses off to help get guys back from injury and keep these guys healthy,” Weaver said.

“Then acknowledging that at this time of year there’s going to be injuries and we’ve had more than our fair share.

“But the way that we approach things and the readiness that a player has for whatever’s next, whether that’s a bigger role, a smaller role, a different position, a different five-man unit to play in.

“The city of Brisbane is going to see the same level of fight.”

The Bullets now travel to Melbourne to play United on Saturday night at John Cain Arena, from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and 9Go!