CEO note: pre-finals

Dear 36ers Family

As we prepare for our club’s first home final in eight years, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the journey to this point across NBL26.

Our last home game against New Zealand was our 23^rd win for the season and it was played in front of a record 37^th sell-out crowd. Both are remarkable achievements that we should all be incredibly proud of.

To put our season into perspective, in the club’s 44-year history, it has won 20 or more games only four times before this year, and this is just the second time we have won 23 or more games - the first coming in the 1986 Invincibles championship campaign when the side won 24 of its 26 games.

We also won our way into the final of the inaugural Ignite Cup in-season tournament, and while we didn’t bring home the trophy from the Gold Coast, it was played at finals game intensity which will help sharpen our focus for the games to come.

The progress this season has been the culmination of years of support from our Owner & Chairman Grant Kelley and his family, and a strategic focus on and off the court. We are now leaders across the entire NBL in gameday experience, commercial growth, community engagement and membership and fan engagement. This is a testament to the dedication and work ethic of our team.

And yet while we are pleased with the positive trajectory of the club, we are conscious of the significant opportunity to achieve something special this season.

A lot of the credit for the season so far must go to Matt Weston, Mike Wells, the rest of the coaching and High Performance staff and of course the players, but our club would not be in the strong position it is without the support of our front office staff, our volunteers, our corporate partners and all our members and supporters.

I’d like to acknowledge our award winners from last week’s NBL awards night – Flynn Cameron as Most Improved Player, Zylan Cheatham for his recognition in the All-NBL Second Team and of course Bryce Cotton taking home three awards including his sixth NBL MVP award as well as selection in the All-NBL First Team. Bryce also claimed our club MVP award – the Mark Davis Perpetual Trophy – for the first time at our club awards night and I know he is eager to cap an incredible season with team success in the finals. It really was a great night when we celebrated our season so far, and I’d like to congratulate all of our winners.

This week we launched our finals campaign Sixers Strong. If you haven’t seen the video narrated by the great Al Green and our finals merchandise offerings, I’d encourage you to check out the club social media channels. It really is about the journey we’ve shared together in our pursuit of success.

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre will be at capacity again but if you haven’t booked your ticket to Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix, a limited number of tickets have just been released (required opposition and NBL holds which have now been released for sale), so click here to get in quick before we sellout.

We know now that should our Semi Final series go to a third game, we will be back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday the 17^th of March, and we will be in touch with ticketing information for that game, if it’s required, as soon as possible.

We are looking forward to seeing you back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to support the group in the NBL Finals!

Nic Barbato
Adelaide 36ers CEO