Usher completes undefeated Blitz on Day 6
Photo: Perth Wildcats (Twitter / X)
Who played well on day six of the Blitz?
Game 12: Tasmania JackJumpers 86-82 Adelaide 36ers
After a fast start by Adelaide, the Tasmania JackJumpers closed out their final game of the Blitz to take them to an undefeated 3-0 record.
Adelaide would be up by 11 at the half to only be outscored 33-19 in the third quarter by Scott Roth’s men.
Returning import Milton Doyle led Tasmania in scoring with a well-rounded stat line of 19 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 28 minutes.
Jack McVeigh (13), Anthony Drmic and Majok Deng (11 each) would accompany Doyle in Tassie’s second-half comeback.
Adelaide, coming off the unofficial sacking of import Jamaal Franklin and the crushing 32-point defeat to the Wildcats on Tuesday, showed with a depleted roster that they can still compete at this level.
The 36ers missed the aforementioned Franklin, Jason Cadee, Jacob Wiley and Trey Kell in their final Blitz game.
Tall Black Tohi Smith-Milner would put in an impressive showing for his new team with 21 points off the bench in 22 minutes, while Mitch McCarron had a near triple-double scoring 16 points to go along with 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Game 13: Perth Wildcats 93-89 New Zealand Breakers
Much like the previous game, the Perth Wildcats have come down from 17 points down to beat the New Zealand Breakers 93-89.
The energetic Jordan Usher led Perth in the second half, giving them the much needed defence and hustle that they had lacked in the previous two seasons.
Usher would score 26 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals on 10/14 from the field.
Bryce Cotton gave the Red Army a heart attack near the end of the game, with knee-on-knee contact with Finn Delany and falling to the ground in agony.
The three-time MVP would be able to play the next minute of the game before being subbed out of the contest with just over five minutes left, finishing with 21 points.
Keanu Pinder had a near double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.
For the Breakers, Parker Jackson-Cartwright continued his impressive Blitz form with 15 points and 10 assists.
Abercrombie (10), Jessup (12), Cheatham (13), Delany (15) and Gliddon (14) completed the well-rounded Breakers performance.
The Wildcats completed the Blitz with a 3-0 record, however due to losing the first two quarters they did not win the Loggins-Bruton Cup for tourament Champions, which was taken home by Melbourne United.
Tomorrow in the final day on the Gold Coast will see Justin Robinson’s Illawarra Hawks play Taran Armstrong’s Cairns Taipans, and Jonah Bolden’s Sydney Kings round off the week versus Aron Baynes’ Brisbane Bullets.
