“Big for the group. Big for the City”: Vasiljevic on the opportunity in front of the Sixers

Adelaide 36ers co-captain DJ Vasiljevic feels his side has what it takes to win the NBL Championship, drawing parallels with the 2022 title winning side he was part of in Sydney.

The Sixers are one win away from the Championship Series, having won game one of their Semi-Final Series against the South East Melbourne on Tuesday.

The sides will meet again on Saturday night at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, a venue where the Sixers have lost nine of their last 11 games, though they were victorious there by 13 points when the sides met there most recently in November.

The 36ers have not won a championship since 2002 and were last in a Championship Series eight years ago.

Speaking before the side headed to Melbourne on Friday, Vasiljevic said the opportunity in front of the group to do something special was exciting.

“I think it's big for not just a group, but I think the entire city,” he explained.

“Obviously, they haven't tasted that sort of success in a very long time.

“Bryce (Cotton) has won three (Championships) and I’ve won two, (so) I think we kind of have that experience to try and push it in the right direction.

“And, we feel like we could win it all. It's just going to take a day at a time, every practice, every game.

“We're just going to try and do the best we can.”

When he says the group feels like it could win it all, Vasiljevic speaks from experience.

He was part of the Sydney Kings’ 2022 and 2023 Championship winning groups, and he says he feels the current group has a lot of similarities.

“I think off the court, we really do like each other a lot,” the Sixers co-captain said.

“I had that in my first championship year in Sydney, and I think it translates a lot easier on the court, and we ended up winning.

“And we did go through a little bit of slump like we have at the end of the season and ended up winning the title so I think we can do it again.”

But first they’ll need to get past a Phoenix outfit which won’t want its season to be finished on Saturday night.

Josh King’s side led many of the statistics by the end of Tuesday night’s game one, but not the most important one – the scoreboard.

Vasiljevic is expecting a fired up and physical Phoenix side in front of its home crowd.

“I think they're going to come out hungry and aggressive,” he said.

“Obviously, they've got a lot to play for.

“But again, the stats don't really matter. It's all about, at the end of the day, who has more points and who wins the game so that's what we're trying to do.”

Game two of the Semi Final series between the Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix tips off at 5:00pm ACDT / 5:30pm AEDT at John Cain Arena.

If you can’t be there, you can watch it live on ESPN via Kayo or Disney+.