Undermanned Kings show great fight in loss to Phoenix at NBL Blitz

By Matt McQuade

Result: South East Melbourne Phoenix 81 Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 75

Stats That Matter: Rebound count Kings 50 Phoenix 50; Kings 12 offensive rebounds; Kings 9/34 (26%) three-point shooting; Phoenix six blocked shots

Kings MVP: Jarell Martin’s third quarter work pulled the Kings back in the ballgame.

Turning Point: Sydney’s injury toll from tipoff ultimately proved too much to overcome.

The game was over when: Phoenix guard Xavier Mumford nailed a jumper with just over three minutes remaining to make it a double-figure lead.

Trending in the right direction: Just seeing Angus Glover healthy and out there on the court should gladden the hearts of every Sydney Kings fan.

Despite being significantly undermanned, the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have produced a highly encouraging first-up display in going down 81-75 to the South East Melbourne Phoenix on night one of the NBL Blitz at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.

Already missing Matur Maker, Makur Maker, Jordan Hunter and Dejan Vasiljevic coming into the game, the Kings held out new import point guard Jaylen Adams due to knee soreness and then lost second import R.J. Hunter in the pregame warm-up due to a groin pull.

With so many weapons unavailable, it was understandable that the purple and gold struggled in the early going against a Phoenix unit featuring three ex-NBA players in Mitch Creek, Ryan Broekhoff and Chinese behemoth Zhou Qi.

The Kings trailed 29-13 after one as Broekhoff and Creek nailed a combined five triples in the opening stanza, and were down 46-29 at intermission despite the welcome return of Angus Glover (eight points, seven rebounds), who had all of his eight points in the first half and showed he’s lost none of his trademark energy, athleticism and hustle.

However, the second half was a different story for Sydney.

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Led by Jarell Martin (15 points, nine rebounds, three steals), the Kings came out with a purpose in the third period. Martin started it with a thunderous dunk in transition and had a second one shortly after, and both Xavier Cooks (10 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Jaylin Galloway (six points) joined the party with jams of their own.

South East Melbourne’s Kyle Adnam was able to keep Sydney at bay with six points in the quarter, but the Kings won the 3^rd 25-22 and earned their first point of the Blitz.

When Qi dunked to give the Phoenix a 19-point advantage early in the final period, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the game would turn into a blowout.

But not so fast.

A 12-2 Sydney run capped by a sweet Biwali Bayles spin move for the deuce and a Jayden Hodgson triple suddenly had the Kings down just nine with four minutes remaining and an improbable upset was on the cards.

Unfortunately, the upset bid fell just short, but to their immense credit, the purple and gold kept fighting to the end, earning a second Blitz point on the night with their 21-13 final quarter.

Sydney had good contributions from everyone who took to the floor. Tom Vodanovich worked tirelessly for his 12 points and nine rebounds, Shaun Bruce was as solid as ever and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk was aggressive and relentless at the defensive end of the court.

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The Kings shot the ball at 36% from the field, were 9 of 34 from three-point range and 10 of 16 from the foul line.

Sydney will do battle with defending NBL champions Melbourne United on Monday night at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre in their second game of the Blitz. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm and the game will be available on Kayo Freebies HERE.

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SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 81 (Creek 17, Adnam 16, Broekhoff 12)
BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 75 (Martin 15, Vodanovich 12, Cooks 10) at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.

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