Vasiljevic “built” for Grand Final moment

Monday, May 9, 2022

The Tasmania JackJumpers’ home game atmosphere has been described as a disco, but it was a Sydney Kings DJ spinning the decks in game two of the Grand Final series.

The Tasmania JackJumpers’ home game atmosphere has been described as a disco, but it was a Sydney Kings DJ spinning the decks in Game 2 of the Grand Final series.

With the game on the line, Dejan Vasiljevic stepped up and nailed a massive three-pointer with eight seconds left to give Sydney the 90-86 win, and a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The Kings are now just one win away from their first championship since 2005, and Vasiljevic says he doesn’t “shy away” from the bright lights.

“The coach has trusted me. X (Xavier Cooks) told me before the game that you're the one who has to step up this game,” Vasiljevic said.

“I don't shy away from moments like this. I'm going to enjoy this with my teammates, but we're trying to close this out in game three.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DEJAN DAGGER ??????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> Grand Final Game 2 LIVE & FREE on ESPN via Kayo Freebies + 10 Peach ? <a href="https://t.co/kRZfakBHSs">pic.twitter.com/kRZfakBHSs</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1523188809042518016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vasiljevic’s dagger came after Tasmania’s Josh Adams hit a big three-pointer of his own on the other end.

The shot could be the defining moment of the Grand Final series, as no team has ever won the championship from 2-0 down.

With MVP Jaylen Adams out with injury, Cooks knew Vasiljevic needed to pick up more of the scoring load.

“Before the game I told him, bro, you’re built for these moments,” Cooks said on The Crossover.

“That last shot, he had no doubt that was going in and neither did we.”

Game 3 of the best-of-five game Grand Final series tips-off on Wednesday night at 7:30pm AEST at Qudos Bank Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"You're built for these moments"<br><br>Xavier Cooks knew DJ Vasiljevic was that dude. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLCrossover?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLCrossover</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AAMI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AAMI</a> <a href="https://t.co/IU993XdKfB">pic.twitter.com/IU993XdKfB</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1523192262695432199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>