36ers' supporting cast answers Gleeson's call

Trevor Gleeson got what he’s been asking for, with more players stepping up as the Adelaide 36ers defeated the Sydney Kings on Sunday.

Leading the way in that was a standout two-way showing from Matt Kenyon, with John Jenkins III doing what he’s paid to do – shoot the ball.

The 36ers were in a tough spot heading to Sydney on Sunday for the first Championship Series rematch of the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season, having lost their past three games and still being without Isaac Humphries and Flynn Cameron.

Six-time MVP Bryce Cotton and import centre Nick Rakocevic have been holding down their end so far for the Sixers, but Gleeson has been calling on more of their teammates to stand up to get things on track.

That happened in spades in the 84-78 win over the Kings as they steadied their season at 3-4 in what was a standout coaching performance by Gleeson, but his players still had to carry it out.

It all started at the defensive end with Kenyon’s job on limiting Championship Series MVP Kendric Davis to 16 points on 6/19 shooting with four turnovers, while going 3/3 from deep himself for 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

That was the performance that Gleeson felt set the tone for the overall team performance.

“I thought it was an [outstanding performance] and it’s something we’ve worked on all pre-season but hasn’t really come on when the bright lights have been on,” Gleeson said.

“We’ve still got some bad habits that we have to iron out, but the effort and intensity without question was there today.

“And I thought this man (Kenyon) was outstanding, and Jacob [Rigoni] at the three-minute mark diving on the loose [balls] set a statement for us that we were going to be here.

“I loved that energy, and I loved the guys stepping up when we’re wounded with a few guys out, and we’ve got excuses built in. But we just kept on playing, so I loved that.”

Then at the offensive end, there was more help for Cotton and Rakocevic too, including Kenyon, Zylan Cheatham and Rigoni combining for 27 points with seven made three-pointers.

But the big difference was a more aggressive Jenkins, who was out there looking for his three-point shot at every opportunity and got up 17 attempts, made six of them and finished with 20 points.

Gleeson was even impressed to see his banked-in shot inside the arc.

“He went 1/1 for the twos too, and he had that little bank shot, and I haven’t seen that in six weeks,” Gleeson said.

“I’ve never seen him play inside the twos, but he’s an explosive scorer and can drop four, five threes away and break a game open.

“Especially when Bryce gets so much attention, and the rollers get so much attention, and to be honest, I thought he was open for three or four that he should have made, especially on a couple of rebounds.

“I’m surprised he probably didn’t make eight or nine.”

Adelaide next travel to Tasmania on Friday night, with the Round 5 match tipping off at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.