Match preview: Top-two Sixers to face Wildcats in the West

The Adelaide 36ers have headed west to face the Perth Wildcats in their final game of the regular season, hoping to take a three-game winning run into the post-season.

It will be Flynn Cameron’s 100^th NBL game with his total made up of 67 games for United and 32 so far for the Sixers.

The 25-year-old is among the leading candidates for the NBL’s Most Improved Player award, which will be announced on Monday night.

The last time the sides met in Perth in December, the Sixers ended a run of seven straight losses to the Wildcats with a dramatic come-from-behind win from 20 points down in the last quarter.

That was the first time Bryce Cotton had returned to Perth since his club switch in the off-season and he finished with 21 points, 12 assists and three steals.

When the teams most recently faced off on December 28 in Adelaide, the Sixers overcame a slow start to win 95-84 with Cotton again the match winner with 36 points and seven assists.

The Sixers go into the game on the back of two straight wins, including a less than polished come-from-behind win over New Zealand last Saturday, while the Wildcats had a disappointing loss to Sydney minus injured players Ben Henshall and Dylan Windler.

The Wildcats have also recently been boosted by the return of import David Duke Jnr, who suffered an arm injury when the sides last met in Adelaide, and he has been known to match up on Cotton in previous meetings.

South East Melbourne’s loss on Thursday night confirmed a top-two spot and direct passage to the semi-finals for the Sixers, though while the Adelaide side can’t drop below second, taking good form into the post season will be a key focus.

And while less than two days later the Sixers have the final of the Ignite Cup to play against New Zealand with up to $300,000 in prize money up for grabs, import forward Zylan Cheatham says the group can’t afford to look beyond the Wildcats.

“I mean, as big of a deal as everyone makes it and as much as obviously earning a couple of extra dollars is definitely always a plus,” Cheatham said of the Ignite Cup Final.

“The biggest game of the year, the primary focus for us is Perth, and we'll cross that bridge with New Zealand when we get there.

“As of now, I'm not thinking about anything but Perth. I'm very locked in on the task at hand.

“I understand what's at stake and if we come out and take care of business, we can put ourselves in a solid situation, so it's really all I can think about.”

There are interesting storylines everywhere in Friday night’s game. Three of the NBL’s 11 MVP candidates will be on the court with Cotton, Cheatham and Perth’s Kristian Doolittle each nominated, while Wildcats coach John Rillie was named Boomers coach for the World Cup qualifiers over the next couple of weeks and he’ll be coaching Perth’s David Okwera and Elijah Pepper, as well as Adelaide’s Isaac White in the games against Guam and the Philippines.

Friday night’s game gets underway at 9:00pm ACDT.
 

PERTH WILDCATS v ADELAIDE 36ERS
RAC Arena, Friday 20 February, 9:00pm ACDT / 6:30pm AWST
Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports or Disney+

OVERALL
Played 162, Adelaide 71, Perth 91

At RAC Arena
Played 29, Adelaide 8, Perth 21

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Dec 28, 2025 – 36ers 95 def Wildcats 84 at AEC
Dec 7, 2025 – 36ers 95 def Wildcats 94 at RAC Arena
Nov 9, 2025 – Wildcats 94 def 36ers 87 at AEC
Feb 7, 2025 – Wildcats 112 def 36ers 104 at RAC Arena
Jan 17, 2025 – Wildcats 110 def 36ers 103 at RAC Arena

KEY STATS

·       Adelaide has won the second half in each of its last nine away games after trailing at half-time.

·       Adelaide has lost seven of its last eight games at RAC Arena.

·       Heading into Round 22, Dejan Vasiljevic ranks 1st amongst qualified players for FT% (96.4%) this season.

·       Heading into Round 22, Isaac Humphries ranks 1st amongst qualified players for FG% (67.1%) this season.

·       Perth has won each of its last five games against Adelaide after trailing at quarter-time.

·       Perth has won five of its last six home games.

·       Adelaide attempted 39 three-pointers against New Zealand on Saturday - team's equal-most three-point attempts in a game since Round 8, 2000/01.

·       Heading into Round 22, Bryce Cotton ranks 1st amongst qualified players for points per game (25.7) this season.

·       Heading into Round 22, Bryce Cotton ranks 1st amongst qualified players for three-pointers made per game (3.3) this season.

·       Heading into Round 22, Zylan Cheatham ranks 1st amongst qualified players for rebounds per game (10.1) this season.