36ers ready for big Bullets challenge

Adelaide will be looking to make it two-from-two to start the NBL24 pre-season when the 36ers host Brisbane Bullets at The Lights Community Centre on Saturday afternoon.

After a successful trip to Mount Gambier, which concluded with a 101-65 success against South East Melbourne, the 36ers will unveil the NBL24 roster to a sold out arena.

Head coach CJ Bruton said the side has been working on a few adjustments after the opening win against the Phoenix, and is looking forward to the Bullets challenge.

“We know Brisbane will be coming in ready to go, they have a new-look team, a new coach and have been performing really well this pre-season,” Bruton said.

Brisbane defeated Cairns Taipans 96-65 a fortnight ago with new import swingman Chris Smith the star of the show, connecting on seven three-pointers in his game-high 25 points.

The Bullets are 2-0 this pre-season, having also defeated California Baptist University Lancers 73-48 to tip off their NBL24 campaign.

With new coach Justin Schueller at the helm, who will return to the North Adelaide home floor where he led the Rockets to the 2008 NBL1 Central championship, the Bullets have added key pieces to their roster, headlined by Mitch Norton, Isaac White, Sam McDaniel and Josh Bannan.

Bruton said his side will be confident after last Friday night’s win and will look to build on the performance against the Bullets.

“This is another good test for us, we will have a few more different looks this week and this is all part of the pre-season process,” Bruton said.

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Import forward Jacob Wiley is close to a NBL24 debut after missing the win against the Phoenix with leg soreness.

“We showed some different line-ups against Phoenix and we will again have a look at changing things up and see what works best for us moving forward,” Bruton said.

Saturday afternoon’s game tips off at 2pm and can be seen live via the new Adelaide 36ers app.