"I wouldn't change anything": Chance stands by United's physicality

Jacob Chance's Melbourne United came up two points short in Hobart on Wednesday night. Their coach couldn't have been prouder of how they got there.

United were missing Chris Goulding and Shea Ili before the opening tip, and the fouls piled up from there. By the death, Luke Travers, Cole Anthony and Josh Oduro had all been sent to the bench for good, on a night the two sides combined for 72 free throws.

Even so, the visitors clawed back from 19 points down to take the lead in the final two minutes, and Sam Waardenburg levelled the scores with 14.2 seconds remaining.

It wasn't to be, with Tasmania's Taran Armstrong hitting a mid-range jumper with 5.5 seconds left to hand the JackJumpers an 84-82 win.

Chance was nonetheless rapt with the fight his side showed.

"I loved it. That's what I just spoke to the team about," Chance said.

"We're going to find out where our toughness and physicality was, and I wouldn't change anything about how we played defensively. You can't come down here and play soft, and I didn't think we did that and gave us a chance to win."

Melbourne's comeback came despite a frustrating night at the line and from range. United went 11/25 from the free-throw line in the first half and 25/41 for the game, and shot just 5/20 from beyond the arc. They also conceded 18 offensive rebounds to a JackJumpers outfit that went into half-time ahead 52-35.

Chance, a former JackJumpers assistant, said the trip south demands a certain mentality.

"You can't come down here and not be up for the fight," he said.

"I want our guys to be competitive. I want to live on the edge, and I thought we did that tonight and we executed when we needed to. I want us to be unfazed, but I also want us to execute at the same time. And to see the combination of that working together, I'm really happy with the group."

Even with key players lost as the fouls mounted, Chance stood by his side's approach.

"I loved our physicality, and you've got to be up for the fight when you walk in this gym, and we were tonight," he said.

Oduro led United with 22 points and 8 rebounds, but it was veteran Joe Ingles who drove the comeback, finishing with 18 points and 5 assists.

Fabijan Krslovic, who captained the club for the first time against his former side, said Ingles was the steadying presence the team needed.

"He's just always under control and always makes the right decisions and always backs himself," Krslovic said.

Now seventh with one win from three games, Melbourne host the Cairns Taipans at John Cain Arena on Saturday night, live on ESPN from 7:30pm AEST.