Wildcats complete NBL Cup with dazzling comeback

It's perhaps only fitting that the Perth Wildcats capped off winning the NBL Cup on Sunday by producing the most remarkable of comebacks to do something they seem to enjoy, and that's inflicting pain on the Adelaide 36ers with the 97-88 win.

It was a remarkable way to finish the NBL Cup at John Cain Arena on Sunday. Adelaide blew Perth away in the first half going on two separate 12-0 runs to lead by as much as 26 points with new import Brandon Paul on fire with 16 opening half points.

It wouldn’t last. The Wildcats hit the first 19 points of the second half and with Bryce Cotton and John Mooney unstoppable, once they had the momentum the Sixers couldn’t do a thing and Perth went on to win by nine having won the second half 58 points to 28.

Two-time MVP Cotton was just brilliant with 20 second half points on his way to 34 for the game to go with seven assists and three steals.

Mooney produced 17 points, 16 rebounds and three assists with Todd Blanchfield catching fire for 20 points and five boards while hitting 4/7 from downtown.

Mitch Norton added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, and captain Jesse Wagstaff nine points and seven boards.

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson is a five-time champion but even he saw something on Sunday he's never seen before.

"I've been in the league as a coach or assistant coach for 17 years and I've never seen nor been part of that big of a turnaround," Gleeson said. 

"It was night and day. How we played in that third quarter especially the first five minutes to get into the game with a 19-0 run was just a remarkable turnaround."

Paul top-scored in an impressive debut for Adelaide with 25 points and three rebounds in almost 28 minutes while shooting 6/10 from three-point territory.

Josh Giddey finished with 14 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds to impress as well for the Sixers while Daniel Johnson contributed 14 points and seven boards, Sunday Dech 12 points, and Jack McVeigh 12 points.

Sixers coach Conner Henry was going up against his former team for the first time, and wasn’t surprised that they hit back so hard in the second half. That didn’t mean he wasn’t disappointed though.

"They're the defending champs and came out in the second half and were more physical than us, and showed a level of toughness that we are trying to get to," Henry said. 

"They took some things away from us in that second half that they didn’t in the first half and we kept moving the ball but they created a lot of turnovers. They got the momentum and it's then tough to stop. 

"And then they've got that MVP guy who is pretty good. It's disappointing but I'm proud of our guys nonetheless. We, as a group, continue to bounce back and we haven’t finished off some games lately so it's a process as painful as it is. 

"We're going through it and we get to go home tomorrow and rest up, and get ready for our next one."

On the back reaching 34 consecutive finals series, winning 10 championship and being back-to-back winners coming into this season, the Wildcats just don't know anything other than winning in the NBL.

Coming into Sunday's game that concluded the tournament within the season in Melbourne, the 'Cats had already secured the NBL Cup trophy and $150,00 prizemoney, and it looked as though they had already started celebrating in the first half.

Adelaide came out hot and ready to make a statement too with a brilliant first half headlined by a remarkable debut from new import Brandon Paul.

The 36ers put together likely their best half of basketball this season in their first meeting with Perth for #NBL21. They put their oldest and fiercest rivals to the sword firstly closing the opening period with 12 straight points, and going 17-2 over the last five minutes.

Sunday Dech got rolling with seven quick points in the second quarter before Jack McVeigh nailed consecutive threes, and then it was Paul's time to put on a show in his NBL debut.

It started when he finished an alley-oop pass from Dech and then he drained a pair of threes on his way to 16 first half points. Daniel Johnson also had 14 points, McVeigh 12 and Dech 11 with Josh Giddey dishing out 10 assists as they shot 56 per cent from the field and nailed 8/16 from three.

There was no sign of what was to come, but if you know the history of the NBL then you should have expected it. The Wildcats stunned the 36ers to start the second half with 19 consecutive points including a pair of threes from Todd Blanchfield along with six straight John Mooney points.

Giddey steadied Adelaide with a three but then Bryce Cotton kickstarted another 8-0 Perth run to give them the lead.

Paul was able to restore a four-point three quarter-time lead for the 36ers, but the Wildcats had too much momentum to stop there. They dominated the fourth quarter again including starting with the first seven points. 

Another 12-0 run including two Cotton three balls saw the lead blow out to double-figures and the 'Cats won by nine on the way to accepting the NBL Cup trophy.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 9
NBL CUP WEEK 4

PERTH WILDCATS 97 (Cotton 34, Blanchfield 20, Mooney 17) 

ADELAIDE 36ERS 88 (Paul 25, Giddey 14, Johnson 14)

POINTS AWARDED – Perth Wildcats 5, Adelaide 36ers 2

BOX SCORE