“Fire in the belly” for Summer Shootout

Fireworks are set to go off on January 4 when the Adelaide 36ers host Melbourne United in the first Summer Shootout game. 

Not only will United be looking to run the score up on the 36ers, it is the first meeting between the sides since the drama-filled events in Round 9 which resulted in fines and suspensions.  

As part of the Summer Shootout, each team has been asked to nominate an away game which they think they can score the most points in, and the away team that records the highest score across the 10 games will collect $50,000. 

Melbourne has nominated Adelaide for the Round 15 contest, and 36ers guard Dejan Vasiljevic believes it’ll be a fiery environment at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. 

“We play Melbourne United, and they’ve marked us for the Shootout,” Vasiljevic said on ESPN’s Nothing But Net.

“So you best believe when they come to town that there’s going to be some fire in the belly. Not only from us, but our fans too."

When these two teams last met, an on-court scuffle saw Montrezl Harrell fined, along with United pair Shea Ili and assistant coach David Barlow. 

An incident with fans also saw Harrell suspended three games and Kendric Davis two games.

Adelaide is the lowest rated defensive team in the league, making them an obvious choice the Summer Shootout. 

It’s an issue that Vasiljevic said the team understands and are focusing on addressing. 

“We have to get the defensive rating up, because defence wins championships,” he said.

While the star guard is currently sidelined due to a hamstring injury, he is expected to be back for the game against United.