The Perth Wildcats will ride the momentum wave right into the finals series after defeating the Adelaide 36ers at Perth Arena.
As expected, the clash was a feisty one!
Poor Greg Hire will be feeling a bit tender today I’m sure after copping a couple of unnecessary hits early on in the game, all the while sporting his new ‘Harry Potter-ish’ scar on his forehead from the game before. He has been in the wars! I am assuming an ice bath and a massage would have been on the cards for him after Sunday’s game.
The Wildcats welcomed back some big names after resting players for last week’s clash against the Sydney Kings. Damian Martin, Nate Jawai, Casey Prather and Jermaine Beal came back into the starting five along side Matt Knight.
The Cats got off to a good start early but the tone of the game was set by the 36ers who took an 8 point lead into the second half. Despite the game being a dead rubber match, the 36ers played aggressive basketball and forced the Wildcats to cough up a lot of turnovers. Cats’ coach Trevor Gleeson did not look too pleased at half time and I have a feeling he gave the boys a bit of a spray during the break.
And it worked! There was a momentum swing after a couple of dunks from Nate Jawai and a big 3 pointer dropped by the skipper Damian Martin. Unfortunately the big man Jawai was forced out of the game with a back injury, one that has been bothering him for a little while now, which could be a huge blow for the Cats heading into finals.
The Wildcats presented a good fight back and levelled the score in the third quarter with some handy work under the ring from Casey Prather and Tom Jervis. Damian Martin showed why he is the best defensive player in the league, and has been for the last 5 years, with some impressive steals. He also came out on top from a scuffle with Adelaide’s Anthony Petrie.
The Cats shot off on the scoring front and finished the game on 100 points, sealing the deal by 16 points. Jermaine Beal, Casey Prather, Damian Martin, Tom Jervis, Jesse Wagstaff and Greg Hire all finished with points in the double-figures, the best scoring spread for the team this season.
It was the last game of the regular season – and what a season it has been! We have seen some of the Wildcats players really up their confidence and come out of their shells (AKA Casey Prather), not to mention the veterans being in fine form! Shawn Redhage played his 350th game and Tom Jervis recently had his career best game. Legends!
The Wildcats have a finals date with the Illawarra Hawks on Friday the 19th of February at Perth Arena, the game starting at 6.30pm (AWST).
Show your support for the Wildcats and their finals campaign at @PerthWildcats #RedArmy
