Gleeson expecting Mathiang to feature against Phoenix

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Trevor Gleeson is expecting new signing Mangok Mathiang to play some part in Saturday night’s game against South East Melbourne.

Mathiang was signed by the club on Wednesday as back up to Nick Rakocevic, following the retirement of former captain Isaac Humphries.

The 208cm big man has experience in the NBL, suiting up for both Illawarra and New Zealand, as well as an extensive international career spanning across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Mathiang has also spent time in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets.

Gleeson is excited by the prospect of Mathiang joining the team, praising the 34-year-old for his high basketball IQ as well as his impact on the defensive end.

“He has very high basketball IQ, athletic at rebounds, protects the rim,” Gleeson said on Mathiang’s signing.

“I know Mangok pretty well, and that's what we need on the defensive end, especially with rebounding.”

“He's not in great physical condition. He's got to get a little bit acclimatised to what we're doing and his role.. so I'm looking forward to him help us out a little bit.”

Coming off consecutive road wins against the Sydney Kings and Tasmania JackJumpers, the Sixers seem to be back on track after a tough start to the season.

Saturday night’s clash against the Phoenix is the third game in a four-game road trip for the Sixers, finishing the stint against New Zealand next Friday night.

Prior to those wins, there had been some external criticism of the group given the high expectations by commentators.

Gleeson says the Sixers don’t pay attention to the external opinions, but he is pleased with how the Sixers have responded to adversity – including injuries to Humphries, Bul Kuol and Flynn Cameron so far this season.

“Flynn’s only played 20 minutes the whole season and he's our starting point guard,” Gleeson said.

“We knew we had to move our chess pieces around. We had to ask our bench to deliver a little bit more.

“Now we’ve got another two games on the road here.

“First seven out of ten games on the road so it's challenging and we're going through adversity. I like how we're responding so far.”

Gleeson added that Cameron is “back on track” after an ankle injury suffered in the first game of the season that has kept him out of the team.

Saturday night’s clash against the South East Melbourne Phoenix tips-off at 7:00pm ACDT, with live coverage on ESPN via Kayo or Disney + or on free-to-air television on Channel 9.

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