Vasiljevic says 36ers must move forward

Adelaide 36ers captain DJ Vasiljevic said his side is making strides after last round’s two victories against South East Melbourne Phoenix and Illawarra Hawks.

The 36ers opened their NBL25 account with a 93-83 win at home against the Phoenix, then travelled to Wollongong and came home with a thrilling 102-100 victory against the previously undefeated Hawks.

Vasiljevic said Adelaide needs to continue to move forward, starting with Friday night’s home clash against Sydney Kings.

“We played against two great teams (last weekend) and we knew we couldn’t fall behind,” Vasiljevic said.

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“The vibe has been good, but we got to know we just can’t take a backward step, we got to continue rolling this streak.”

Vasiljevic said teams usually take two to three weeks to gel together, especially a new group with a lot of fresh pieces to the roster puzzle.

“We stuck to the process and kept gelling together, we only played three or four pre-season games together, some teams played six or seven,” Vasiljevic said.

“The first two games showed what we needed to fix, we got Montrezl (Harrell) into the line-up,

“I had the same kind of situation in Sydney, we were 4-7 and we ended up winning the championship that year.”

In his first season as captain, Vasiljevic said he is taking advice from the entire playing group as the 36ers grow into their identity for the NBL25 season.

“When I took the captaincy I didn’t want to take away from anyone else,” Vasiljevic said.

“I wanted Sunday (Dech), I wanted Jason Cadee, obviously Trez, everyone has a voice on this team.”

Adelaide will battle Sydney Kings this Friday night at the Entertainment Centre in the Born to Build Construction Industry Round supported by Master Builders SA and Tool Kit Depot, watch the game live and exclusive on ESPN via Kayo Sports.