DJ says '40 minutes' required in Phoenix battle

DJ Vasiljevic says Adelaide 36ers will need to play for the “full 40 minutes” to bounce back against South East Melbourne Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Adelaide will be playing their fourth match in 11 days and Vasiljevic said the team are in good spirits despite the 111-101 overtime loss to the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday night.

“We have a great start to the new year, we dropped one we shouldn’t have against Cairns, again you learn from those mistakes,” Vasiljevic said.

“It’s a 40-minute game, we can’t slack off for five minutes.

“I really think we should have killed them off in that third quarter, but we gave them a sniff.”

The 190cm shooting guard expects his side to come out firing with Wednesday’s game the first of a double-header on the road this round.

“We got two games this week to keep our season alive,” Vasiljevic said.

“There is a lot of fuel for me, I get to go home and play in front of family and friends.

“I think the boys are going to be ready and come out and perform well.”

Adelaide battle South East Melbourne on Wednesday night at the State Basketball Centre from 7pm ACDT, catch all the action live and exclusive on ESPN via Kayo Sports.

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SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
State Basketball Centre, Wednesday 7pm ACDT

OVERALL
Played 17, Adelaide 9, South East Melbourne 8

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Nov 17, 2023 - 36ers 96 def Phoenix 93 at AEC
Oct 19, 2023 – Phoenix 102 def 36ers 85 at AEC
Dec 24, 2022 – 36ers 94 def Phoenix 88 at AEC
Dec 11, 2022 - Phoenix 102 def 36ers 84 at John Cain Arena
Oct 30, 2022 – Phoenix 103 def 36ers 98 in overtime at John Cain Arena

LIKELY STARTERS
Phoenix: Ben Ayre, Matt Kenyon, Abdel Nader, Mitch Creek, Gorjak Gak.
36ers: Trey Kell, DJ Vasiljevic, Nick Marshall, Kyrin Galloway, Isaac Humphries.

STATS THAT MATTER

• Phoenix has won their past last three home games against Adelaide.
• Adelaide has lost each of its last six away games.
• South East Melbourne has won the third quarter in 15 of its last 16 home games.
• Adelaide has won the first half in each of its last four games.
• SE Melbourne has won each of its last six games when allowing fewer than 90 points.
• Sunday Dech plays his 150th game
• Isaac Humphries has recorded 15+ points and 5+ rebounds in five consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
• SE Melbourne ranks 10th for bench points per game (23.0) this season.
• SE Melbourne ranks 10th in the league for true shooting percentage this season (51.9%).
• Mitch Creek is the only qualified player ranked top 10 in the league for both points (20.2) and rebounds (6.8) per game this season.
• Mitch Creek has career averages of 22.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game against Adelaide - most against any opponent.
• Adelaide has scored the first basket in each of its last six games - longest active streak in the league.
• DJ Vasiljevic has a career average of 3.2 three-pointers per game against SE Melbourne - most against any opponent.