Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright praises unsung heroes in win over reigning champion Perth Wildcats
Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright has paid tribute to the unsung heroes who stepped up to secure a much-needed win over Perth Wildcats and rekindle the club’s NBL playoff push.
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Coach Joey Wright described it as the play that secured his team a much-needed victory.
But Ramone Moore’s steal and layup deep into the final quarter of Adelaide 36ers’ win over Perth Wildcats made a bigger statement about the SA club’s reinvigorated NBL season.
It was one of a string of matchwinning contributions from the Sixers’ less celebrated players, who stood tall when star men Jerome Randle and Daniel Johnson failed to fire.
Wright said it reflected the desire and depth of his team, which jumped back to within one triumph of the top-four after ending a three-match losing streak.
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“Ramone stepped up,” said Wright, following the 100-97 success over the reigning premier.
“For him to ... make that play at that time probably turned the game and won the game for us.
“But I also saw players out there as well holding each other accountable.
“It was probably really good (because) it wasn’t one of Jerome (Randle’s) better games, but we still were able to get a win against a quality team.
“It probably wasn’t one of DJ’s (Johnson’s) better games either, but the other guys stuck with it and kept going.
“Our bench has been one of the strongest benches as far as scoring in the league all year.
“But I think what we’ve done in the past is we let the collateral damage from DJ and Jerome not playing well pull us down.
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“Tonight (Wednesday) we didn’t.”
Moore’s decisive moment came after he had averaged just four points in his last five matches.
It was complimented by big displays from Anthony Drmic (18 points, six rebounds), who restored Adelaide’s lead late on, and co-captain Brendan Teys (13 points).
US forward Eric Griffin delivered his most complete performance in a Sixers singlet, racking up a game-high 24 points in a showing Wright labelled “phenomenal” and “unguardable”.
The coach said digging deep to hold off the fast-finishing Wildcats, who wiped out a 12-point three-quarter time deficit to momentarily hit the front, demonstrated his team’s character.
Wright said it also provided a timely boost ahead of an equally challenging trip to face table-topper Sydney Kings on Saturday.
“I haven’t lost confidence,” Wright said.
“It’s tough on everybody right now.
“It’s the nature of our league and the team that, kind of, rises above it will be the team that sticks around the longest.
“We didn’t like the way we played last game (a nine-point loss to New Zealand).
“But I challenged these guys and told them to make sure they played with a little swagger and had some fun out there tonight.
“That’s what we’ve got to do and we did that early.”