The Adelaide 36ers fell just short of a first championship since 2002, going down 113-101 to the Sydney Kings in a five-game series that will be remembered as one of the NBL’s best.
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Head coach Mike Wells, in his second season with the club, was quick to praise his group post-match, despite the disappointment. Few had tipped Adelaide to push the series this far, yet they took one of the league’s strongest sides to the brink.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the group.” he said
“The way we competed, I think, all year, the amounts of times that we were down at least eight points in second halves and came back and won.
“Mathematically as a coach, you’re sitting there and you’re seeing what time and score with two minutes, time and score with one minute.
“They [Sydney] find a way to win. So congratulations to Brian and that team.”
“Man, they’ve had a remarkable run since January 5. We give them an absolute ton of credit. Truly such a really hard guard. And they have got so many weapons. And what KD [Kendric Davis] did this year for them and what he did in the playoffs and a couple of really big games at home against us.”
Wells acknowledged the outside doubt that surrounded his team throughout the series, with many predicting a sweep.
“We had people doubting us in Southeast,” he said.
“They said we were gonna get swept and we played a fantastic game after the break and came back and in a game three led wire to wire. Couldn’t be prouder of those type situations. The two wins at home against Sydney, just remarkable.
“Unfortunately, we probably needed one more play right there. And we could have been having a little bit of a different press conference.”
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Despite facing criticism during the season, Wells said his focus remains on the group and the path ahead, with the loss set to drive them forward.
“I just couldn’t be prouder of them as human beings and the way we practised and all the travel and there’s some sting in there at the end,” he said.
“And hopefully that’s fuel for us going forward and the future is definitely bright. I know how hard this league is, but it is bright.”
With the season now over, attention turns to what comes next, with much of the core expected to return.
“Probably to go get a cold beer first,” he said.
“It is a different ending than last year’s ending at Southeast, which was so bitter. And this one’s a bitter in a different way because we were right on the cusp of winning a championship. So that’s kind of hard.
“I’ll probably take a moment to step back from this one. Because we have such a quality group in there. I have some ideas of what I think the group needs after coaching them for so long, and they’ve just been outstanding.
“Like last year, I was clear before I got on the bus. When I left the press conference, I got on the bus, I knew exactly what we needed to do. don’t want to make a rash decision on this one because it’s so emotional right now.”
An emotional Wells said his strongest takeaway from the season was the growth of Isaac Humphries and the relationship they built.
“It’s my relationship with Isaac.
“The culture piece, him taking a leadership role. I wanted to push his role within the team because he had so many years experience.
“I asked him to really latch on to trying to help us change our culture. And he was just phenomenal. And Erin Phillips was with us for a long time. And she really helped Ice. And he took the reins. And then he just took off. And it was awesome.”
Before leaving his last press conference for the season, Wells paid tribute to those closest to him and the support behind the scenes.
“My wife’s been unbelievable. She supported me in doing this. She was a morning news anchor in Salt Lake City for 30 years. She retired to come with me to do this and live this dream.
“It is a dream. And it just stings a little bit today that we didn’t quite get it across the line.
“I appreciate her support. She’s been amazing. Grant’s [Kelley] support of me internally has been unwavering no matter what the outside story is. And Matt [Weston] and Nic [Barbato] have been fantastic to work with and try to put the team together. And that’s all you can ask for as a coach is an owner that wants to give you the tools to be successful.
“We’ll see what’s next on the plate. But it’s been one hell of a two years. And I’ll take a moment and digest this. And we’ll try to regenerate the group and see if we can get it across the line for Adelaide and South Australia.”