The 36ers are two spots away from the last playoff seat.
With their playoff hopes dim, Adelaide 36ers head coach CJ Bruton vows his team will not quit in their final three games at Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL).
On Saturday, the 36ers suffered a heartbreaking 94-87 loss against Melbourne United, one of the teams they are competing against for the last playoff spot. The loss may have been the final blow to their hopes of making the playoffs.
Despite that, 36ers fans can expect to see a team that will give it their all as the regular season winds down.
“Our guys are battling and you won’t see them quit and roll over or lay down,” Bruton said on the 36ers’ official website.
For Filipino fans, it was a sorry loss as Kai Sotto bounced back with a 15-point, 7-rebound performance after scoring only in single digits in the previous three games. That point total is also good for second-highest output for the Adelaide squad in that game.
If the 36ers win its final three games against Cairns Taipans (January 30), Sydney Kings (February 3), and Melbourne United (February 5), they keep their chances alive to make it to the postseason.
But they do not control their fate.
Winning three in a row is a challenge in itself, but being two spots away from the last playoff seat means they would need the basketball gods to make their rivals lose some games. Coach Bruton, however, is taking it one step at a time.
“Winning the next game so that we are in the position to go into a positive, not in a negative and show we made some strides.”