THE basketball action continued on Saturday night, with the second National Basketball League (NBL) double-header of the weekend. The third round of NBL action has been terrific to open the weekend, with a number of big wins and thrilling clashes, and Saturday evening’s clash between the SEM Phoenix and the Sydney Kings was no exception to this. With the Phoenix enjoying an undefeated start to their season, they entered this match heavily favoured. This was emphasised on Thursday night when the Kings were belted by Melbourne United, and produced the lowest score in club history.

This looked to be a certain blowout, given the contrasting form between the sides. However, the Kings were able to do the unlikely, and upset the form team of the competition to claim a stunning win. The Kings produced the game many expected of them this season, given their new ‘six seconds or less’ style of play has taken teams apart at times. They were terrific in gaining and maintaining an early lead, keeping their opponents on the back foot for much of the contest.

The Kings came out firing early, shocking the Phoenix with their ruthless attack on the contest and hard work on both ends of the court. In the first term, the Kings held their opponents to just 14 points in the first term, with the Phoenix shooting a remarkably low percentage from the field in this time. While many looks were wide open and should have found the bottom of the net, much if the credit should go to the Sydney defence, who forced the opposition into shots they would rather not take.

On top of this, the Kings jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first period after scoring a whopping 29 points of their own in the first term. It was a message to not only the Phoenix but the rest of the competition, that this fast-paced, chaotic style of play can work this season.

They immediately had one of the championship favourites gasping for air with their high pressure game, and following their powerful first term, they were able to keep their opponent at arm’s length for the remainder of the match.

In the stats, the field goal percentage was the biggest difference between the sides, with the two teams putting up similar numbers. However, the Kings shot more accurately than their opponents, making 31 of their 74 field goal attempts.

The Phoenix on the other hand took the same amount of shots but were only able to make 25 of these. The story was similar behind the arc, with the victors making two more than their opponents, in what was reflective of the final result.

The Kings will be highly encouraged by this performance moving forward, especially after the embarrassing performance against United on Thursday night. They have shown that 48 hours is a long time in basketball and will continue to prove a threat as the season goes on.