Do it for Ken: the extra motivation behind the Sixers' Championship goal

It was a special occasion on Tuesday night as the Adelaide 36ers paid tribute to the late great Ken Cole in the right fashion, by beating the South East Melbourne Phoenix to win through to the NBL’s Championship Series.

Cole passed away on Sunday surrounded by family after a long illness, and his family were in attendance at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to watch the game, as the Hall of Famer would have done, had he been able.

Players wore black tape on their jerseys with the word Ken written on it, and there was a touching tribute prior to tip off with the sell-out crowd on its feet for a moment of silence in Cole’s honour.

The 1986 Championship coach rarely missed a Sixers game as the club’s number one ticket holder, and his seat was left vacant with his jersey draped over the back of the seat and his trademark hat placed carefully on it.

And the team seemed to feed off the emotion, beating the Phoenix in a high-tempo, high aggression game to get themselves into the Championship series.

Sixers co-captain DJ Vasiljevic says the Cole family and his many friends in the basketball community were front of mind on the night.

“I felt in the moment I didn’t want to go home," Vasiljevic said on Wednesday.

"We’d worked so hard and it was time to try and compete for a championship that Adelaide hasn’t felt for a very long time.

“If we can try and bring one back, obviously the late great Ken Cole was the first one to bring them one (in 1986) and hopefully we can do it for Ken this year and finish the job off.”

Ken Cole will be farewelled in a private service this week. His family are raising money to pay for the funeral costs. If you would like to donate, you can do so HERE.

The Sixers will take on the Kings in Sydney in Game One of the Championship Series on Saturday night from 7:00pm ACDT.