Contributors Shining for Wildcats

The Perth Wildcats are a team full of contributors who know their roles and coach John Rillie is full of belief in his squad heading into tomorrow’s Play-In Game.

The spread of contributors was evident in Thursday night’s Play-In Qualifier game against the South East Melbourne Phoenix where the ‘Cats won 106-99. They are now preparing to battle the Cairns Taipans in the do-or-die Play-In Game on Sunday. 

While star guard Bryce Cotton stole the headlines with 20 points in the fourth quarter, Rillie was quick to highlight the performances of other players, which allowed Cotton to do his thing in the fourth.

“We had great contributors,” Rillie said.

“(Luke) Travers, big three offensive rebounds, Tai Webster comes in and changes the pace of the game by getting downhill for us. We had different guys step up.

“TaShawn’s (Thomas) two huge free-throws.

“Bryce needs guys like that around him to allow him to do that…so all the pieces come together in the fourth quarter.”

Import Brady Manek marked his territory on Thursday when he sharpened his claws and scored 24 points, including some important three-pointers.

Rillie applauded Manek’s first half performance, which kept the Wildcats in touch with the Phoenix.

“Brady’s shot making in the first half was great because that just kept our scoreboard ticking over. Their lead couldn’t really bust out,” Rillie said.

The Wildcats have had their fair share of questions in this season of ups and downs, with five losses in a row at one-point, leaving fans questioning if the ‘Cats were Finals worthy.

Rillie assured he stuck to his belief in the team throughout the season and reiterated that after the do-or-die win.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BELIEVE!!!!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/TN5ZdYKeHQ">pic.twitter.com/TN5ZdYKeHQ</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1623613979418566656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“My belief hasn’t wavered,” he said.

“When we were 5-7, I still had the same belief. When we lost five in a row, I still had the same belief.

“My job as a coach is to get that out of the players, we’re getting there. We can still get better.”

The Western Australian side’s title dream is still alive, as they prepare to take on the Taipans in another sudden death match-up in the Play-In Game on Sunday at 2:00pm AEDT.

Catch the game live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.