Did Wildcats blow $50,000?

While the Perth Wildcats enjoyed a comfortable win over the Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday, they may have blown their chance of securing the Summer Shootout after a low-scoring fourth quarter. 

The away club that scores the most points in its nominated Summer Shootout game will win $50,000, with Perth’s game being Sunday’s clash in Tasmania.  

Wildcats owner Mark Arena has promised all the prize money would go back to the players, and with Perth leading 92-60 at three quarter time, it looked like they would post an unattainable Summer Shootout score. 

However, the Wildcats rested its stars in the final term and posted just 13 extra points, finishing on 105, which 1990 NBL MVP Derek Rucker thinks might not be enough to win the money. 

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“That was probably the only blemish on their performance as a group. I would have liked to see the starting group play three, four, maybe five minutes at the start of that fourth quarter,” Rucker said on Moments That Mattered.

“I thought if they could have gotten up to 118-120, which they were well on track for, they could have put the Summer Shootout away.”  

Perth’s 105 still leads the Summer Shootout with six games remaining, with the next one being the Cairns Taipans’ battle with the Brisbane Bullets on Friday night. 

Despite sitting in last place, Rucker thinks the Taipans are a “chance” to post a high score and take the lead in the competition. 

“Like everything else in the NBL, it is unpredictable now, who knows who is going to win this,” Rucker said. 

Perth is back on court tonight against the Brisbane Bullets at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.