Match report: Undermanned Sixers Blitz Hawks

The Adelaide 36ers have opened their Code Sports NBL Blitz campaign with a dominant 21-point win over Illawarra.

Missing a host of stars, including recruits Bryce Cotton and Matt Kenyon, as well as regulars Isaac Humphries and Montrezl Harrell, the Sixers led for nearly the whole game against the reigning NBL Champions to win 104 to 83 at the AIS Arena in Canberra.

Pleasingly for Head Coach Mike Wells, even without some big names, the Sixers found plenty of avenues to score with six players finishing in double figures.

Coach Wells spoke in the off-season about wanting his side to play fast basketball and it was on show in the opening stages of the contest.

New import Zylan Cheatham got the Sixers scoring started from the free throw line and he linked well in the early stages with Isaac White, Flynn Cameron and DJ Vasiljevic as the team in blue opened up an eight-point advantage in the first quarter.

Wells rang the changes as the quarter progressed, giving minutes to recently signed development player Che Brogan, nominated replacement player Blake Jones and training player Tom Kubank, and with five points off the bench from recently crowned NBL1 Central MVP Keanu Rasmussen, the Adelaide side held a six-point lead at the first break.

Cheatham showed the athleticism that is likely to make him a fan-favourite at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre as he and fellow big man Ben Griscti pushed the lead out to 13 after the break. 

Kubank nailed back-to-back three pointers and Vasiljevic was the first player to double figures, but with Will Hickey hitting back for the Hawks, the margin was back to six points at the main change.

The 36ers were certainly missing some firepower but you wouldn’t have known it in the third period as Cameron went to work.

He had four straight points and just kept scoring including twice from beyond the arc, to take his tally to 16 points and guide his side to a 14-point advantage heading into the final quarter.

Vasiljevic found his range as the minutes ticked away, knocking down a couple of big threes to take the lead out to 19 points with seven minutes to play.

Not to be outdone White went back-to-back-to-back for three on the trot from beyond the arc to extend the margin to a game-high 26 points.

Development player Magok Manyang got some minutes late as a youthful line-up saw out the final stages of the victory.

The Sixers will be back in action on Saturday night against Tasmania in their second game of the CODE Sports NBL Blitz. 

ADELAIDE 36ERS 104 (White 20, Vasiljevic 17, Cameron 16) def ILLAWARRA HAWKS 83 (Hickey 14, Grida 12, Blanchfield 11) at AIS Arena.
BOX SCORE