The Final Six

With six games left in NBL22 the Phoenix are looking to go on a run in their bid to reach their second consecutive finals series.

After an up and down season filled with Covid interruptions, injuries to key players, and a roster that came together midway through the season, the Phoenix have showed glimpses of how good they could be. With six games left those glimpses need to become hard stares.

THE RUN HOME

Saturday April 2, Cairns Taipans, Away, tip-off 8pm
Season Record: Phoenix lead 2-0

Round 8, Phoenix 87-Taipans 77
“It’s awesome. Country Victoria is such an unbelievable breeding ground for sport. You could not hear a thing out there in the gym tonight, they were loud as all heck. (I’m) really taken aback by the people of Traralgon and what they were able to do for us in the game tonight and I thought that they carried our energy levels and helped us continue to put pressure on the opposition with the energy they provided us. I’m glad we put on a pretty good show for them tonight, too.”
-Simon Mitchell on the support of the crowd in Traralgon

Round 17, Phoenix 86-Taipans 74
"Staying out of foul trouble has definitely been the biggest thing for me. Really in this league, not only this year but even in two years ago with the Breakers. And being able to just out there on the floor and having an impact it felt really good."
-Brandon Ashley

Upcoming game, Round 18
The Taipans get their first look at Zhou Qi after the Phoenix big man missed the Round 8 clash with gastro and round 17 with a knee complaint.

Don’t miss out on the action for the game on ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel.

(Brandon Ashley was huge in the last hit-out with a career high 25 points.)

Thursday April 7, Melbourne United, at The Fire Pit, 7.30pm tip off
Season record: United lead 2-1

Round 2, Phoenix 94-86
“I think the crowd also lifts it (The Throwdown). There is a little bit of a split, you’ve got some Phoenix fans in the crowd, and you’ve got some United fans and I think they bring that emotion up as well, which is great for the sport of basketball and there city of Melbourne. Us as players, we feel that, sometimes you ride off the crowd. The crowd along with the physicality always makes for a great battle between two great teams.”
-Kyle Adnam

Round 12, United 94-87
“We knew it would be a tough game, all the boys were ready, we made a few mistakes and that's what cost us." 
- Izayah Le’afa

Round 15 United 98-90
"That was very disappointing, and endemic of pour last three performances. We get a nice little lead and are unable to hold on, teams are just able to run us out of our structures down the stretch." 
- Simon Mitchell.

Upcoming game, Round 19
The Phoenix will be focused on getting some revenge on United in Throwdown XVI delivered by DoorDash. The team from the Heartland have looked the better of the two Melbourne teams for much of the Throwdown series this season, but lapses at crucial times have cost them in the last two games.

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3JpOJDL

(Throwdown XVI delivered by DoorDash will sure to be a big game between the Melbourne rivals.)

Sunday April 10, New Zealand Breakers, Away, 1pm tip off
Season record: Phoenix lead 2-0

Round 1, Phoenix 89-65
“It’s slowly coming together. Tonight, it was a great atmosphere, and I had a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot guys, I love playing with Dane (Pineau), he keeps possessions alive he works hard, sets good screens, you got (Mitch) Creeky out there doing what Creeky does, just a great group of guys. The fans were great, they brought a lot of excitement and a lot of fire, it’s been a year since I played in front of some fans, so it was just great to be able to do that.” 
-Xavier Munford

Round 2, Phoenix 95-88
“I think we’ve got a mindset this year that we’ve got standards we’ve set around the place that we just can’t live with (failing to meet). I’m going to tip the hat, there was some damn good shot-making. It was a really high-level offensive performance at times, but we’ve got to be able to dig in a little better than we did tonight.”
-Simon Mitchell 

Upcoming game, Round 19
Phoenix and the Breakers have not met since the start of the season back in December. The game itself will be played in Bendigo with the Breakers continuing their on the road season. 

Don’t miss out on the action for the game on 10 Peach or Kayo Freebies.

(It will have been four months since the two sides have matched up against each other.)

Sunday April 17, Tasmania JackJumpers, at The Fire Pit, 1pm tip off
Season record: Phoenix 2-0

Round 8, Phoenix 76-63
"I think there is some really good things to take away from this game, we were scrappy, there were guys looking at the bench to get a break, I was proud of the guys the way they did it tonight. Offensive side needs a lot of work, just need to get those games into us."
-Simon Mitchell

Round 11, Phoenix 83-71
“I thought it’s actually been really positive, it’s frustrating watching from home, no doubt, but positive from the aspect of we had guys step up, fit in seamlessly with our group. You put them out there, guys like Lachie (Barker), who come in and just make plays. I think that’s a credit to the group, the way we handle ourselves, our culture in a way, that guys can fit in seamlessly in this roster.”
-Kyle Adnam

Upcoming game, Round 20
The JackJumpers  inaugural year has been an impressive one and will provide a stiff test for the  Phoenix as they fight for their spot in the top 4.

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3wGpEAV

(Will Phoenix go 3-0 against the newcomers for the season?)

Friday April 22, Adelaide 36ers, at The Fire Pit, 7:30pm tip off
Season record: 1-1

Round 15, Phoenix 83-76
"Kyle was a key, I thought Brandon was excellent especially in that first half when we were a bit leaky, and Adelaide were finding their avenues to score, and I thought when Brandon entered the game, we stand them tight a little bit there and I thought his protection of the rim was particularly good." 
-Simon Mitchell

Round 17, 36ers 100-92
"For me it's putting your body on the line and doing the little things we need to do to win a game, 18 offensive boards to our 20 defensive rebounds is just not good enough. We are in a dogfight now, we have Cairns, United, and New Zealand coming up and all those teams will fight, I challenge the boys and myself."
-Kyle Adnam

Upcoming game, Round 21
The Phoenix know they have a lot to redeem themselves with their last outing against the 36ers. A lapse in their second half cost them an important win to keep their final chances alive.

Tickets vs Adelaide 36ers: https://bit.ly/3qKUogh

(Phoenix will be out to redeem themselves after their last outing aganist the 36ers in their final homegame for the home and away season.)

Sunday April 24, Perth Wildcats, Away 5:30pm tip off
Season record: 1-1

Round 10, Wildcats 79-101
“That second term was obviously where the game was separated. We kind of lost our way. We had a few turnovers in that patch there - maybe five turnovers - that contributed to eight or 10 points that they had. They also picked up loose balls and offensive rebounds that got them cheapies and then they got to the foul line as well. 10 or 12 free throws in that second quarter. A lot of it was late. That’s when we look back on the game, there’s a bunch of different things we can probably nit-pick on and pull apart, but it was right there in that second quarter.”
-Interim Coach, Judd Flavell

Round 13, Phoenix 86-80 
“Just overall great effort, obviously defensively in the first half is something that we spoke about coming in that we needed to hang our hats on, and I thought, first half, we were great at that end. Second half we missed a few things, here and there but to beat a team like Perth and how they’ve been rolling, it as a big win for us, definitely.”
-Kyle Adnam

Upcoming game, Round 21
Phoenix will travel to Perth for the final game against the Wildcats. At their home court, Perth will be tough to tackle. 

Don’t miss out on any of the action for the game on ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel.

(Phoenix travel to Perth for their final game for the season.)

There are some big games coming up including the remaining three home games. CLICK HERE to secure your seat.

Phoenix Media (29/3/22)