THE National Basketball League (NBL) action rolled on to Saturday evening, where the league held a double-header, keeping fans extremely entertained. Proceedings kicked off with a clash between the SEM Phoenix and the Brisbane Bullets at John Cain Arena. The Phoenix entered this match as favourites, given their strong performance throughout the season, but the Bullets had shown capable of beating the competition’s best sides, so there was a fair bit of intrigue coming into the clash. However, the Phoenix just proved too good for their opponents, coming back from an early deficit to emerge victorious to the tune of four points in front of their home crowd.

Team Stats:

The Phoenix actually ended up losing a few of the key stats, but their ability to still grind out the win is a testament to their class and strength. The biggest boost came from their finishing inside the two-point line, making five more field-goals in this area than the Bullets. They were more efficent than their opponents from behind the arc too, and much of this was thanks to the efforts of Cameron Gliddon. After coming back into the lineup last weekend, Gliddion was a perfect 6-6 from three-point arc, giving his side a crucial boost in the scoring category.

They narrowly won the rebounding battle, pulling down two more boards than the opposition. This was boosted by the efforts of Ryan Broekhoff, who has lifted his output in this area in recent weeks. He pulled down an equal game-high eight boards, always hunting the loose ball as he gave his side any extra possession he could. These were the two biggest areas of dominance for the victors.