THE POSTSEASON officially begins for the 2025/26 National Basketball League (NBL) fixture tonight, when the Perth Wildcats travel to Melbourne to take on the SEM Phoenix in a seeding match for the upcoming semi-finals.

Following one of the most entertaining seasons in recent memory, the finals are set to explode in the NBL, with several sides holding a fair claim to the championship in the coming month. Two of the top contenders will lock horns in a seeding match at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night, which will determine which side faces off against the Adelaide 36ers, and which side will need to take on the winner of the Melbourne United and Tasmania JackJumpers clash.

Both the Phoenix and the Wildcats have been strong throughout the 2025/26 season, and although South East Melbourne will boast home court advantage and have been the better side during the fixture, recent encounters between the teams suggest the final could go either way.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs. Perth Wildcats

John Cain Arena
Wednesday, March 4 @ 7:30pm

The Phoenix have been one of the biggest threats to the title this season in the NBL, and were fighting for a top-two spot on the ladder right up until the last round of the fixture. With Josh King getting the most out of his players on a nightly basis, South East Melbourne was electric on the offensive end and relentless on the defensive end.

Although they finished higher on the ladder, the Phoenix will be wary of what happened the last time these sides clashed at State Basketball Centre, which saw the Wildcats flip the script and aggressively attack South East Melbourne’s defensive structures and find success doing so. With this in mind, expect the Phoenix to take the defensive challenge personally.

There is no one more vital in setting the tone defensively for the Phoenix than the reigning NBL Best Defensive Player John Brown III. The import often leads by example on that side of the ball and will need to ignite the charge for his teammates if the Phoenix are to flip the result from the last time these sides met.

The Wildcats were able to lock in a top-four spot in the closing weeks of the season following a strong finish to the fixture. They were even more dangerous when playing out west, but will need to get the job done in enemy territory tonight.

One encouraging fact is that the Wildcats won their most recent outing in Melbourne against the Phoenix, in South East Melbourne’s fortress in Gippsland. Perth coach John Rillie is fresh off coaching the Boomers to two wins at the Asian Qualifiers last weekend, and will have a few tricks up his sleeve for this matchup.

On the flipside to Brown III’s impact for the Phoenix is Perth’s star power forward Kristian Doolittle, who completed an All-NBL calibre season, and will go head to head with South East Melbourne’s defensive maestro. If Doolittle can win this battle, it will give the Wildcats the upper hand in a major game within the game.