Shock win over Perth worth the wait for Adelaide 36ers coach
DURING the longest Covidenforced playing break in the NBL, the Adelaide 36ers were able to train just five times and coach CJ Bruton said it couldn’t have been more frustrating.
It meant redemption was a long time coming after a last-start loss last year but Wednesday night‘s shock win over the Perth Wildcats was worth the wait.
Bruton and his men had 31 days to stew on their desperately disappointing showing in a blowout loss to the Taipans in Cairns – their last game before the league went into a Covid-enforced pause.
The Sixers endured the longest gap between games of any NBL team during the break in the season, but showed no ill effects of their inactivity in an upset 87-74 win over the ladder leaders at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night.
Bruton had limited access to his players as the virus spread through NBL ranks over the festive season, but was quietly confident his team would wake from its slumber in good order.
“Having to wait so long was frustrating,” Bruton said. “Guys sitting at home, dealing with Covid, and then to come out and play like that … we’ve had five sessions in a month of competitive training.
“What can you do? (I said) ‘Here are a few things that we’re going to hang our hat on, a few things that we’re going to work on for the game’.
“It was definitely frustrating but I’m glad that we got it done.”
The re-energised 36ers got out to a 28-point lead in the second quarter and held off a late rally to restrict the Wildcats to their lowest score of the season.
Daniel Johnson and Cameron Bairstow, starting in place of Isaac Humphries, who had been in Covid protocols, were key factors, as was Sunday Dech in his first game of the season following his recovery from a quad injury.