Review clears Drmic over accidental elbow
ADELAIDE 36ers guard Anthony Drmic says he personally apologised to Chris Goulding for his wayward elbow to the Melbourne United star’s face before the NBL cleared him on Tuesday.
Drmic’s left elbow caught Goulding flush in the eye during their tense contest at Melbourne Arena on Sunday and while Goulding declined to shake hands post-match, the two made peace shortly after.
“I tried to shake his hand and he was a bit heated but understandably I would be too if I got hit in the face like that,” Drmic said at Sixers training yesterday.
“We exchanged texts after so we’re all good.”
The league’s game review panel yesterday decided Drmic had no case to answer after considering submissions from both clubs. It deemed contact was accidental when Drmic ripped the ball away from his opponent in a “legitimate act in the course of play”.
Melbourne United had the last laugh, winning 75-72, which gave the 36ers a 2-2 record this season. They are now preparing for a double header road trip against Cairns on Friday night and New Zealand on Sunday.
“We need to get a lot better at defending, transition defence and offensive rebounding,” Drmic said.
“Today, we had a pretty hard session and worked on some of those things and, hopefully, it will show on the weekend.
“I think as a team we need to come closer together. Early in the season this happens every single year I’ve played, you struggle early then you start rolling so hopefully we can get that done.”
Forward Ramone Moore did not train yesterday and instead had shooting practice before talking with the club’s medical staff while shooting guard Nathan Sobey appeared to have treatment on his lower back.
Coach Joey Wright insisted both would be right to play against Cairns on Friday night.