Kings dig deep to secure Pink Hoops win over JackJumpers

The Sydney Kings have moved up to third on the ladder after defeating the Tasmania JackJumpers 88-77 at Qudos Bank Arena. 

The round 17 fixture was the club’s annual Pink Hoops clash, supporting the McGrath Foundation, played in front of 16,705 fans – marking the biggest regular season crowd since 2018. 

Match summary 

A Cam Oliver triple opened proceedings for the Kings on Pink Hoops, which was quickly cancelled out by Milton Doyle. Despite another three, this time by Jaylen Adams, Doyle’s magic gave the Ants an early 11-6 lead. Efforts by Shaun Bruce and Kouat Noi stemmed the momentum, before an Izayah Le’afa triple gave the hosts the 16-11 lead. But Tassie scored the final four points of the period, to make it 16-15 at the first change. 

The low-scoring affair continued in the second, as nothing could separate the two sides, despite scores from Alex Toohey and Jaylen Adams. A Xavier Cooks dunk and and-one by Cam Oliver saw the Hoops Capital side poke their noses in front. Tough defence by Bul Kuol resulted in him drawing an offensive foul and knocking down two shots from the charity stripe. That, combined with a Cooks fastbreak lay-up, gave the hosts a five-point lead. An Oliver short-range effort as time expired gave the hosts a 38-34 lead at the break. 

PURCHASE YOUR KINGS HOME GAME TICKETS NOW

Oliver carried that momentum into the third, producing on both ends of the court – with a thinderous dunk and athletics block. 10 straight points by Six Man of the Year front-runner Noi moved the Hoops Capitals side up 50-42 midway through the third.  But the Ants hit back, sparked by Jordan Crawford, rattling off nine straight to regain the lead. A Noi triple ended the drought but late buckets by Clint Steindl and Fabian Krslovic ensured the visitors went in the final change only down by one 56-55. 

Oliver opened the fourth with a bucket and dime, with the latter being on a Le’afa triple. When Cooks converted a put-back, the harbour city side led by six, forcing Scott Roth to call a time-out. Triples by Noi and Le’afa followed, to keep Sydney just in front, despite the heroics of Doyle. He and Ian Hummer landed threes to put Tassie up but Adams hit back, to tie it at 73-all. The latter then hit a floater, to give Brian Goorjian’s a small advantage. Free-throws by Cooks and Noi kept the hosts up by four with 90 seconds left. Two more by the latter made it a six-point game. Bruce and Noi iced the Kings’ 11 point-win from the free-throw line. 

Where the match was decided 

Sydney’s win was secured by superior statistics in second-chance points (15-7), points off turnovers (24-4), bench points (43-34) and committing fewer turnovers (17-5). 

Key moment 

A 32-22 final term by the Kings secured them the memorable Pink Hoops win. 

Players of the game 

Noi scored a career-high 32 points (including four triples and 18/19 free-throws), four rebounds and one block, to be crowned the Pink Hoops MVP award winner.

Others to score in double-figures were Adams (17), Oliver (12) and Cooks (10). 

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 15-10, next head to Victoria to face South East Melbourne on Wednesday, live on ESPN from 7.30pm AEDTqw.

They will then return home to host Adelaide at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday, January 24, with the Members Appreciation Round fixture tipping off at 7.30pm AEDT.

Tickets are still available here.