Bullets Out to Ruin Rivals’ Plans

Brisbane has finally ended its losing streak, and according to big man Harry Froling the Bullets are determined to “ruin other team’s seasons”.

The Bullets’ 84-79 win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Monday night sparked a fire within the group to adopt the mindset of ruining every chance their opposing side has of making the finals from here on out.

The win over the Phoenix saw the Bullets send South East Melbourne below local rivals Melbourne United and into seventh place - one spot outside the finals picture.

“We’re coming to ruin other teams’ seasons,” Froling said.

“We don’t want to just be a pushover.

“We’re gonna try and come out and put our best foot forward and build something leading into the off season.”

Coach Greg Vanderjagt praised the fight of his side to bounce back after a 49-point loss to the Sydney Kings last week, as the Bullets have responded strongly in the two following games.

Three days after the blowout loss to Sydney the Bullets lost to Melbourne by just ten points. Two days after that came the drought-breaking win over the Phoenix.

“I’m really proud of the group in terms of getting our butts kicked by Sydney five days ago,” Vanderjagt said.

“The guys have done a great job at responding.

“We played well against Melbourne United for three quarters and then we come in and get a win here tonight against what I think is a really good basketball team who is very talented and trying to make the playoffs.

“We did a really good job of defending the three-point line and sticking to the game plan, and what we wanted to achieve in that game.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JASON CADEE ?<br><br>Catch the fourth quarter action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/Ow3iaL9XBg">pic.twitter.com/Ow3iaL9XBg</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1614933587090100229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jason Cadee top scored for the Bullets with 28 points. Fellow veteran Nathan Sobey scored 15 points, whilst forward DJ Mitchell scored 10.

Monday night’s win prompted Vanderjagt’s eagerness to continue in his role and navigating life as a head coach with the Bullets.

“I would be lying if I said didn’t have an appetite for it,” Vanderjagt said.

“I’m loving the challenge, it’s a lot to navigate through and keep a group that’s not going to making playoff basketball engaged.”

The Bullets next play the 36ers on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT.