Wells Pleased with Hard-Fought Road Win Over Breakers
Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells described the victory over New Zealand Breakers as an “ugly win” but expressed satisfaction with his team’s effort in securing the 83-79 win on Thursday night at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch. This marked their first win at this venue in three attempts.
Bryce Cotton led the Sixers, scoring 23 points along with five assists and two crucial steals. Despite a late surge by the Breakers, the Sixers managed to maintain their lead and finish strong.
The Sixers entered the game having won three of their last four games against the Breakers, though the home team had claimed victory in each of the last five meetings. The match featured significant momentum swings, but ultimately the Sixers prevailed, much to the coach's approval.
“I thought that was a really, really hard fought NBL game. On the road, you've got to kind of bite and scrap and do a whole bunch of things, and sometimes it's not perfect and it's not pretty, but we got the win.”
Wells noted defensive adjustments, pointing out that the Sixers gave up 33 points in the second quarter but limited the Breakers to just 32 points in the entire second half.
“I thought our transition defence was outstanding, particularly in the fourth (and) I thought that we had some really good efforts and big games from a lot of different guys.”
He acknowledged that while the game could have been cleaner toward the end, the team showed resilience and determination to secure the win.
“Of course, we want to clean it up a little bit at the end so it could be a little bit easier, but, you know, you give them credit, they fought, they scrapped, they fought, and we hung in there, and we got to win.”
Author's Summary: Coach Wells praised the team's gritty road victory over the Breakers, highlighting strong defense and key contributions despite an imperfect performance.