Play-In Chance Motivating Phoenix Rise

The inception of a play-in tournament during finals is beginning to look more and more like a masterstroke according to South East Melbourne Phoenix co-captain Kyle Adnam, who has lauded the effect the extra finals places has had on this season’s competition.

The altering of the finals series to include a play-in tournament was only added to the NBL ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. The sides who finish in the top two on the ladder head straight into the semi-finals, while those who place between third and sixth battle it out to join them in the final four.

South East Melbourne has experienced a late season resurgence and currently sit fifth on the ladder – however it's played more games than all of the teams around them.

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Adnam says the addition of the play-in seemed like a no-brainer for such a tight and contested competition.

“For a ten-team competition I think four is probably not enough to get through [to finals], especially for a competition that, historically, has just been so tight,” Adnam said on SEN.

“The last few years any team from one to eight has been able to win. Eighth can beat first on their home floor and I don’t think anything surprises anyone anymore in the NBL.

“To have a system like this really creates a lot of fan engagement and it’s exciting. It’s exciting for the players and it gives teams a chance that might only be out [of the top four] by one or two games.”

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After defeating the second-place Cairns Taipans on Wednesday night to open the league’s Champion Pride Round, the Phoenix travel to Sydney for their final game of the season to take on the ladder-leading Kings.

After losing four games in a row South East Melbourne has rebounded to win its last three contests to give itself a chance of playing some part in the post-season.

The Kings and Phoenix have already played each other twice this in NBL23 – and both games have been high-scoring, entertaining affairs.

Adnam says his side is taking a ‘win or go home’ approach to the game.

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“We’ve had massive games the last few weeks and there’s no doubt our backs have been on the line every single week,” Adnam said. “I’m confident in our group and in our ability to get up, meet those challenges and grab them with both hands.

“Sydney has been absolutely rolling. They’ve been the pinnacle of the game this year and for us to be able to win a game like this heading into the playoffs is going to do wonders for our confidence and our momentum.

“If we win this game it puts us in a really great position for finals and it might even get us over the hump.

“It’s a really, really important one for us. We don’t want to be leaving it to other people’s results to make the playoffs.”

South East Melbourne's clash with Sydney tips off on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, live and free on 10 Peach and 10 play | live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.