DURING their tense victory on Saturday, South East Melbourne Phoenix were in control for three quarters of the match, until New Zealand Breakers came back strongly in the last quarter. However, it wasn’t enough, with the Phoenix holding on to win by three points at John Cain Arena.

The Phoenix controlled majority of the first quarter, whilst the Breakers couldn’t stop the scoring transition runs Phoenix applied and hitting shots around the perimeter. The Phoenix were able to carry the momentum in the second quarter, winning the term, 29-27.

The Phoenix made their opportunities count inside the post by going to Alan Williams, making it a tough task for the Breakers to stop the points in the paint. Ben Ayre played a critical role off the bench, giving plenty of energy and effort on both ends of the floor.

Will Cummings had an impact in the first two quarters, finishing the half with 16 points. Gary Browne was on song, scoring 10 points, four of six from the field, while Parker Jackson-Cartwright lifted on the offensive end for the Breakers.

In the second half, while the Phoenix controlled the third quarter, it was the Breakers (from the likes of Finn Delany) finding range from three. The Breakers started the fourth quarter, going on a 17-2 scoring run to reduce the margin to single figures in the later stages of the game.

Whilst Jackson-Cartwright led from the guard position, it was Williams, Mitch Creek and Browne who combined well, finishing tough shots around the basket to seal the victory.

South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Mike Kelly gave his thoughts on the game and getting a win over a quality side.

“There’s some things we can improve on and I think we can learn from a win,” he said.

After leading for three quarters, Kelly discussed the lead reducing and his side’s efforts overall.

“It was frustrating at the time, but I’m really happy we got the win,” he said. “The guys are going in the right direction and trying to do and trying to do things on the day to day and how we want to do it. That’s four wins in a row for a team that started 1-3.”

Kelly also spoke about the lineup changes, including what the Breakers through and how the Phoenix adjusted.

“It was tough,” he said. “The Breakers did a good job of changing things up when they needed to and it got us on our back foot. We haven’t figured it out, but we did make plays down the stretch that were big.”