Phoenix dominate Wildcats in Finals opener

The South East Melbourne Phoenix put the torch on the Perth Wildcats ball handlers and took full advantage of the pressure applied to dominate their Seeding Qualifier to advance to the Playoffs with the 111-94 win.

All season long the Phoenix have put full court pressure on their opponents. When that's worked, they have been able to get out and run to play at the NBL's fastest pace and get up the most shots.

That came to full fruition at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night to open the NBL Finals as they took advantage of a Wildcats team without a recognised point guard which proved the ultimate difference.

The Phoenix forced the Wildcats into 17 turnovers while also dominating on the offensive glass with 17 o-boards to eight.

That led to South East Melbourne ending the game taking 28 more shots than Perth and to lead by as much as 23 points on the way to the 17-point win as they advance to a Playoffs Series now with the second-ranked Adelaide 36ers.

Nathan Sobey produced another 24 points and seven assists for the Phoenix with Owen Foxwell adding 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Ian Clark chimed in with 16 points and two assists but did limp off in the second half while Angus Glover contributed 12 points, three rebounds and three assists, and John Brown III six points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

It was a horror night for the Wildcats especially in their young back court of Elijah Pepper (seven points, one turnover) and Ben Henshall (11 points, four turnovers) who the Phoenix focused most of their attack on.

However, the 'Cats do have another chance to advance to the Playoffs against the Sydney Kings when they host a Play-In Game on Saturday night.

All-First Team member Kristian Doolittle had another 22 points for Perth but did commit five turnovers himself. Dylan Windler added 13 points and seven assists, David Duke Jr 11 points and four assists, and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr 11 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes thanks to foul trouble.

It was a hot three-point shooting start for the Wildcats with their first nine points coming from deep firstly from Kristian Doolittle and a couple from Dylan Windler, but the Phoenix pressure was wreaking havoc on the visitors.

Perth were lacking that genuine ball handler and couldn’t keep hold of the ball which in turn allowed the Phoenix to go in full attack mode and by quarter-time it was the home team leading 35-29.

That was on the back of taking an extra 12 field goal attempts and having the only three offensive rebounds and zero turnovers while forcing the Wildcats into six of them.

South East Melbourne were leading on the back of that despite Perth shooting 6/9 from behind the arc. The Phoenix continued to apply the pressure on the 'Cats who also were without Jo Lual-Acuil Jr for the last nine minutes of the half after collecting his third foul.

The Phoenix closed the opening half on a 10-2 run including another triple from Angus Glover and a three-point play to Nathan Sobey with South East Melbourne well in control at the break leading 64-47 thanks to 18 extra shot attempts on six offensive rebounds to zero and the 'Cats having 11 turnovers.

South East Melbourne once again closed the third quarter with the last six points to push their advantage out to 22. Even with Perth opening the fourth term on a 10-2 run, the Phoenix had all the answers on the way to the 17-point win to advance.

The Phoenix will now prepare for the opening of their Playoffs Series on the road to the Adelaide 36ers next week. The Wildcats host either Melbourne United or the Tasmania JackJumpers in the Play-In Game on Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL26 FINALS – SEEDING QUALIFIER

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 111 (Sobey 24, Foxwell 18, Clark 16)

PERTH WILDCATS 94 (Doolittle 22, Windler 13, Duke Jr 11, Henshall 11, Lual-Acuil Jr 11)

BOX SCORE