The Perth Wildcats went into this game as the undermanned underdogs, yet they proved the doubters wrong and put on one heck of a show!

The Wildcats are sitting pretty at the top of the table after a 13 point victory over the Sydney Kings at Perth Arena on Thursday night, a final score of 93 v 80. And what a game it was! The Cats were without skipper Damian Martin with a knee injury, Corban Wroe with concussion, Jameel McKay had been sick all week and hadn’t trained and Jarrod Kenny just returned from a groin injury…

They certainly didn’t let that dampen their spirits! The Wildcats undoubtedly delivered their most polished performance for the season and lead the Kings from start to finish, starting the game with all guns blazing and taking a 19-5 lead early in the first quarter. The Cats came into this game off a loss to the NZ Breakers at home on Sunday, and they made sure they didn’t suffer the same fate against the Kings in front of the #RedArmy.

The Kings showed some fight back in the second half, with Brad Newley providing some much needed offence and finished the game with 34 points to his name. Ex-Wildcat, NBL MVP and Olympian Kevin Lisch was aggressive for the Kings and finished with 21 points and a couple of steals.

Casey Prather was impressive as always, finishing on 28 points, and one massive block! (See below) Jameel McKay and Jarrod Kenny both played limited minutes, yet were influential for the Cats, Kenny with 5 assists and McKay with great power under the basket and 2 blocks. Young new-comer Mason Bragg showed his incredible speed up and down the court, his energy lifted the team and he managed two steals thanks to his aggressive defence.

Check out the Prather block!

That Casey Prather rejection. ? pic.twitter.com/R5t8CK2y7C

— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) November 17, 2016

Cats Coach Trevor Gleeson was super impressed with the efforts from his bench, they chipped in 32 points on the board compared to Sydney’s 14. In my opinion Jaron Johnson had a much better game than he did against New Zealand, he was much more controlled and showed his athleticism and skills under the basket.

Have a squiz at the game highlights below:

The Wildcats face the Kings again on Saturday, this time on Sydney’s home turf, tip-off at 4:30pm (WST) at Qudos Bank Arena.

Show your support for the Perth Wildcats at @PerthWildcats #RedArmy