IN THEIR biggest ever comeback in the National Basketball League (NBL) postseason, the SEM Phoenix were able to force game three of their semi-final series against the Adelaide 36ers with a nine-point win over the weekend.

The Sixers got off to the perfect start in game one of the series last week, taking a 1-0 lead with an impressive win and heading to Melbourne with the chance to book a spot in the Championship Series. However, the Phoenix were going to leave nothing in the tank with the season on the line, and with home court advantage, were certainly going to make the Sixers work for a series win.

Although Adelaide jumped out to a hefty lead in the first half, South East Melbourne showed an immense amount of grit and belief after the main change at John Cain Arena on Saturday, coming from the clouds to claim an impressive nine-point triumph at home to force the series back to Adelaide for a third and final matchup.

South East Melbourne Phoenix (104) def. Adelaide 36ers (97)

The Sixers were firming for a game two victory with a brilliant first half performance that was sparked by a strong showing to close the opening term. The visitors ended the quarter on a 14-2 run that saw Adelaide take an 11-point lead into the first change and hold full control of the match to hush the crowd at John Cain Arena.

The start of the second term saw more of the same from the Sixers, as they pushed their margin out to as much as 18 points and looked to have the game sewn up following another excellent performance. Keeping the Phoenix in the game was the performance of Nathan Sobey, who was shouldering a lot of the offensive load for South East Melbourne, and kept the margin at 13 points heading into half time.

Although Adelaide had dominated most of the match coming out of half-time, the third quarter proved the most decisive within the context of the match, with the Phoenix erupting for 39 points in the third quarter to erase the deficit in a matter of three minutes. Sobey set the tone early with a pair of three-pointers to get his side going and his teammates followed suit from there.

The Sixers tried to stay in the fight despite losing their momentum in the third quarter, but every attempted run was answered by the home side, who got the crowd involved. South East Melbourne was able to close out the game in style and force a deciding game, while keeping their own season alive in the process.

Sobey delivered one of the best performances of his career with the Phoenix’s championship aspirations on the line, posting 41 points, five rebounds and three assists on 14/27 shooting from the field and 8/16 from deep.

He was engaged in an enthralling battle with Sixers star Bryce Cotton, who backed up his excellent game one showing with 29 points, six rebounds and five assists as the guards both led their side on the offensive side of the ball.

The do-or-die game three will take place at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night, as the two teams fight for a spot in the Championship Series against the Sydney Kings.