“Utmost Confidence”: Cheatham’s belief in Sixers resolve

Zylan Cheatham has played basketball all over the world but says he’s never been more confident in a team’s resolve than he is with the Adelaide 36ers.

The Sixers have been inconsistent so far in NBL27, with Friday night’s impressive win over New Zealand in Auckland followed by a poor loss to Brisbane at home two days later.

It added salt to the wound that Cheatham’s side had not played at home for a month, and the club was celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first NBL championship.

“I don't really think any loss is a good loss, in my opinion,” Cheatham told Adelaide media on Tuesday morning.

“Obviously, there was a little bit more on that game with, you know, the things that you just mentioned, but, for us, the most important thing is playing Adelaide 36er basketball. We didn't do so.”

After being on the road for four straight games and having less than 48 hours to travel home and play again after the Breakers win, the Sixers will enjoy the next two games at home, providing more time on the training court and in the video review room.

That was certainly the case on Tuesday morning with the group watching key sections of the Bullets game back in a lengthy session.

“I wouldn't say it's a rare thing,” Cheatham explained.

“I think it's just a matter of, you know, we have the schedule that we have. We have some time to actually be home, and we have a couple days of practice.

“Today was important to watch those two quarters, to be able to, you know, see the lessons and stuff that we need to learn from Brisbane and put that game behind us and get ready for our next one.”

The Sixers will next host the Illawarra Hawks in a special Indigenous Round game on Saturday from 5:00pm at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

They’ll wear a specially designed jersey as part of the celebration of First Nations culture and contribution to the game of basketball in this country

Cheatham sees the game as an opportunity for the group to show its resolve, and respond after the performance at home against the Bullets.

“I've never felt more confident in a team,” he said.

“I mean, obviously, tough times don’t last, tough people do.

“We have the DNA to do so, and, I mean, I'm just excited, man. I'm excited.

“Adversity at this point in the season is very important, in my opinion. We ran into it late last year so it's gonna happen at some point.

“I'd rather us get ours right now and get these lessons, man, and learn and see how it feels to lose at home, lose games that you feel like you should win.

“But (I have the) utmost confidence, utmost confidence in my team.”

Limited tickets are still available for Saturday’s clash with the Hawks through Ticketek.

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