A FOURTH quarter surge saw the Adelaide 36ers push past the SEM Phoenix and claim a gutsy 13-point victory when the two sides locked horns in Round 10 of the 2025/26 National Basketball League (NBL) season over the weekend.

It was billed as a finals preview given the strong form of the two teams to start the fixture, and was going to be one of the games of the round when the Phoenix hosted the Sixers at John Cain Arena on Saturday night. With MVP contenders and defensive maestros on both sides, there was going to be plenty to keep an eye on in Melbourne.

It was a contest going down to the wire, with the two sides separated by just three points at the final change, before the visiting side took over the match with a strong finish to the match to snag an important win against a fellow contender.

South East Melbourne Phoenix (81) def. by Adelaide 36ers (94)

Despite the final score, it was the Phoenix who controlled proceedings in the opening term, looking strong offensively and taking it right up to the Sixers in terms of offensive production, which not many sides have been able to do. However, South East Melbourne showed why it is the highest-scoring team in the NBL and led by four points at the first change.

The margin shot out to double-digits in the second frame, as the Phoenix began to ride the momentum coming off a big win over the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday night. Adelaide did well to bring it back to six points at the main break, but it was still an uphill battle heading into the second half with South East Melbourne in control.

However, it was a complete turnaround from the Sixers in the third quarter, with five-time MVP Bryce Cotton finally getting going after a quiet first half. He dropped 10 points in the penultimate period alone as the visitors outscored South East Melbourne by nine points in the frame to remarkably take the lead in a huge resurgence.

The Phoenix looked to slow down the influence of Cotton in the final frame in a bid to stop the Sixers’ offensive momentum. Enter Dejan Vasiljevic, who completely took over the last 10 minutes to drag Adelaide over the line on the back of his own offence. The Australian Boomer was simply unstoppable in the fourth quarter, dropping 17 of his 22 points to close out to the contest in dominant fashion, with a period that included five triples as he starred to lead the Sixers to a double-digit win.

Vasiljevic was the standout for the Sixers, with his last quarter performance the catalyst for the final quarter breakaway, and the team would not have won without him. Cotton finished the match with 19 points of his own thanks to a strong third-quarter performance, while Zylan Cheatham had a huge double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.

For the Phoenix, it was Nathan Sobey who again led the way on the scoring front, dropping a whopping 26 points, which was the most of any player on the court as the guard showed why he is still one of the best shotmakers in the competition. He had some strong help from big man Jordan Hunter, who stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points and 12 rebounds, with six coming on the offensive end.