Vasiljevic challenges Goulding, Cotton

DJ Vasiljevic made 10 three-pointers for the second time in his career, and even though what mattered most was the Adelaide 36ers winning, he's also challenged Chris Goulding and Bryce Cotton to match his feats. 

The 36ers lost in Perth on Friday night even though they battled hard before a long travel day to Cairns on Saturday, and a potential banana peel matchup with the Cairns Taipans on Sunday. 

Starting well to avoid any fatigue creeping in late was going to be crucial and Vasiljevic took that upon himself as captain to catch fire in remarkable fashion. 

Not only did he knock down seven three-pointers in the first eight minutes of the game, but they included some miraculous makes including one from near half court, and others off balance or heavily contested.

It was a spectacular shooting display and he ended up going 10/21 for the game to finish with 32 points, and to make 10 triples for the second time in his 130-game NBL career.

As soon as Vasiljevic saw Melbourne United rival, Goulding attempt 21 threes against the Wildcats back on November 7 where he made nine for 46 points, he was quick to say he was unlikely to ever get the chance to take that many attempts.

Well, as it turned out that only lasted two months but he wouldn’t have minded making a few more over the last three quarters.

"I can tick off the 21 attempts but I wish it was 15 makes, but that's just a credit to my guys and the coaching staff for running plays for me when I get hot. Most importantly was we got the win and we continue our Playoff push," Vasiljevic said.

"Hell yeah I was (wanting to hit 11th three). I'm going to hear it later from my dad and he'll say I should have made more, but I think I'm on top now with two times that I've done this and now it's onto CG and Bryce if they can do it again."

The other time Vasiljevic hit 10 threes was his 42-point haul against the South East Melbourne Phoenix back in NBL23 when he was at the Sydney Kings with Kyle Adnam, the unfortunate opponent to be on the other team on both occasions.

It's a feeling few players even know how it is to feel like you can make any shot from anywhere on the court that you take.

"Honestly you're not thinking anything except you're just thinking it's going in every time you shoot it," Vasiljevic said.

"I really thought the one I attempted after I hit the one near halfcourt that it was going in again, but the hoop just becomes like a hula hoop and you feel like you can throw it from anywhere, and it will go in. I think CG can refer to that as well, when you get going it can be hard to stop."

Beyond his own spectacular performance, already as a two-time NBL champion, Vasiljevic cares more about winning than anything he might do personally and that's where Sunday's win is what matters most. 

The Sixers are now at full strength too with Sunday Dech's return the last three games. Vasiljevic likes the momentum they have, but knows they need to keep winning to break into the top six.

"When we start well and we're locked in defensively we're a very hard team to stop," he said.

"Obviously we've shown that the last few games but we still have some slip ups when we get these big leads and let teams back.

"Cairns scored a few times but we still kept the score pretty steady and it's just about coming out and having energy, and being prepared like we were for this game. It's exciting now that we've got everyone back with Sunday out there and we have to keep rolling from here."

The next challenge for the 36ers is heading back to Sydney where their season turned around back on December 30, with a stunning win on the road to break a run of three straight 20-plus point losses.

It's the old home floor for Vasiljevic as well but he's hoping Adelaide can repeat the dose on Friday night in front of what will be a monster crowd to see them further close in on a top six spot.

"It will be my second time back there and I still have a lot of respect for that organisation, and obviously I won two championships there, and I know they just had a hard fought win today and they play again on Wednesday before playing us on Friday," Vasiljevic said.

"We'll be prepared and we have to keep pushing for these playoffs, and we're fighting for our life and this was a good start in this game to win big and boost our percentage as well."