36ers qualify for NBL25 playoffs
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Written By
Dale Fletcher
For the first time since the 2017/18 grand final series Adelaide 36ers have qualified for the NBL playoffs.
The 36ers finished the NBL25 regular season in sixth place with a 13-16 record and will feature in the Play-In series.
Adelaide will travel to Qudos Bank Arena to battle the fifth-ranked Sydney Kings in an elimination game on Thursday night with tip-off at 7pm ACDT.
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Head coach Mike Wells said his side have responded since the December 30 victory against the Kings in Sydney.
“I'm super excited about the opportunity in my first year to be able to get us to a Play-In Game and I think the group will be ready,” Wells said.
"I have a tonne of respect for Sydney and what Goorj (Kings head coach Brian Goorjian) does there, but we have played well there and the time that we lost to them was right here in this (RAC Arena) building in Game 1 of the year and I still feel that one.
“You want your group going into the playoffs confident and you want them ready to compete, and you want them to be healthy.
“You have to be really good and healthy, and then you have to get a little bit lucky which is the way it's always been.
“I know we are there with the first two and then we'll control our attitude and our energy, and we'll be ready to compete whenever that game is.”
The last time Adelaide played in the post season, the 36ers fell to a 3-2 grand final series defeat to Melbourne United and Wells said his side is trending in the right direction.
“I don't think we're playing for that bad except for our last home game. That's the one that will haunt me forever," Wells said.
“That one was really, really hard, but other than that this group since December 30 has competed at a really, really high level.
“We've won those road games and we've competed and made runs on the road, and been in position to win every game.
“We wanted to be the best version of ourselves by the end of the season and I think we will be healthy for that Play-In Game 100 per cent, and our guys will be ready. I think we have the confidence to believe that we can win anywhere at any time now."