Match wrap: Sixers go down swinging in Sydney

The Adelaide 36ers have finalised their preparations for Hungry Jack’s NBL26 with defeat to European giants Panathinaikos in the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament, but head coach Mike Wells says there were plenty of positives to take from the outing.

The Sixers shocked their Greek visitors in the first half, at one stage holding an eleven point lead before Panathinaikos’ class shone through, with the game finishing 106-89.

EuroLeague MVP Kendrick Nunn (26 points) bested his NBL counterpart Bryce Cotton (24 points, four rebounds, nine assists) and DJ Vasiljevic put on a three-point masterclass, shooting six from nine beyond the arc in a promising final pre-season outing from the Sixers.

“Tonight was the first minutes of game action that we had Bryce and Ice (Isaac Humphries) in any sort of pick and rolls, whether it be offence or defence,” said Wells after the game.

“We’ve got probably more new players than any team in the league. We're trying to find our rhythm, we're trying to find different ways to connect on both ends of the floor.

“I thought that our pace and our energy on the offensive end was good, and I've thought, you know, overall in the communication part, we were decent on the defensive end.”

While there were good signs for a group still gelling together, Wells saw plenty of room for improvement, albeit against a very good opponent.

“They were four of 12 from three in the first half,” he said of Panathinaikos’s range shooting. “They were 11 of 17 in the second. That's the difference of the ball game right there. You’ve got to take them off threes.

“It’s not so much the number of makes as attempts. It just can't be 17 attempts in the second half.”

The Greek champions have a squad value of around $45 million dollars compared to the NBL salary cap around $2 million but it didn’t seem to matter in the opening stages.

Vasiljevic had three triples in the first quarter and Cotton, in his first game for the club, followed his lead to help the Sixers open up an eight-point lead. 

But with Nunn and fellow former Washington Wizard Richuan Holmes bringing plenty of energy for the Greek side, the advantage was cut to just two points at the first break.

While all eyes were on Cotton as he put down 15 second-quarter points in his first minutes of the new campaign to have 19 at half time, Isaac Humphries also made the most of his first court time off a pre-season calf injury with some good looks under the basket.

Had it not been for some scrappy turnovers by the Sixers the margin might have been more than eight at the main change.

After watching Cotton turn it on in the second period, Nunn had his turn in the third, as the sides trades triples and the Greeks went ahead by five at the final change.

And while Nunn was playing a lone hand for his side, Vasiljevic, Cotton and Humphries were finding the basket regularly for the Sixers.

But things seemed to change in the final period with scoring hard to come by at one end while the team in green were finding it hard to miss, with Nikos Rogkavopoulos finding his range from beyond the arc.

After being let go by South East Melbourne just days prior, Vrenz Bleijenberg hit the court in Sixers colours with Montrezl Harrell left in Adelaide, and the Belgian had some nice moments in the last term. Zylan Cheatham also provided energy at both ends of the court, finishing with 11 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists.

While the Greeks triumphed on the night, there were some moments of real sportsmanship including Nunn and Cotton trading jerseys post-game.

Wells summed it up best, describing how much he enjoyed the experience despite the final result.

“(Panathinaikos is) the best team outside of the NBA in the world, I mean the roster’s loaded,” he smiled.

“I thought it was a really fun, unique challenge. They're long, they're big, they make shots, you know, they' do a whole bunch of different things and I thought it was just a fun evening to kind of get out there and see where we can line up, you know, sort of like taking a few swings at them and see what we need to work on, what we need to get better at.

“To have a chance to line up and coach against them is one of the highlights of my career.

“I enjoyed it and I hope they did, I hope the NBL did, I hope everybody did, and, you know, now we're on to NBL, we’re ready to play. Let's go!”

Wells won’t have long to wait. His side will get its Hungry Jack’s NBL campaign underway at home on Sunday against Brisbane.

PANATHINAIKOS 106 (Nunn 26, Holmes 14, Rogkavopoulos 14) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 89 (Cotton 24, Vasiljevic 22, Humphries 12) at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney.
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