Phoenix Star on The "Edge of His Seat"

It wasn’t just Melbourne United with their hearts in their mouths watching Sunday’s remarkable clash between Perth and Sydney. South East Melbourne watched the contest with bated breath as they waited to see who their Play-In Qualifier opponent would be.

Courtesy of their 12-point win over the Kings it will be the Wildcats who play the Phoenix at John Cain Arena on Thursday night, as huge performances from Luke Travers and Corey Webster saw the Cats pip United to sixth position on percentage alone.

Phoenix co-captain and NBL MVP candidate Mitch Creek says even he couldn’t believe what he was seeing on Sunday night.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The final six are LOCKED IN ?<br><br>After an exceptional finish to the NBL23 regular season, who&#39;s keen to see what the finals will have to offer? ? <a href="https://t.co/QWiqrUabQH">pic.twitter.com/QWiqrUabQH</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1622132866502238209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Holy cow,” Creek told SEN. I was on the edge of my seat with some friends and family … that’s what this six-team play-in format does, it keeps things closer for a fair few teams out of a ten team league.

“Melbourne United did their job – it was a great effort … Sydney came in with no Walton Jr but obviously and MVP candidate in Cooks and the ret of their squad.

“With two minutes to go Dejan Vasiljevic gets that little assassin’s grin and gets it back under 10 and I was like ‘I guess we’re against Melbourne United’, then it was Perth again, then United, then Perth, then United. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

“It was an incredible round of basketball. Hats off to Perth for how they fought and came back to get that margin they needed to go through.”

While his time in the NBL has been split by a journey to the NBA and the G-League, Creek is a seasoned campaigner in Australia’s premier basketball competition and possesses over a decade of experience with Adelaide and South East Melbourne in the competition.

While the introduction of the play-in qualifier adds a new ‘win or go home’ element to the game, the veteran forward says his side will approach it as they do any other game.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">History to be made ?<br><br>The fixtures are confirmed for the first ever Play-In games in NBL history ?<br><br>Will the Taipans and Phoenix take care of business at home, or can the JackJumpers or Wildcats cause an upset ? <a href="https://t.co/qvbDujWVb8">pic.twitter.com/qvbDujWVb8</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1622143365835001857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“If you treat it differently just because it’s a final then you’re not really a pros pro,” Creek said of the upcoming fixture.

“You’re just mediocre at best and you’re convincing yourself you’re a pro just because you get paid to do it.

“You don’t put too much emphasis on ‘this is a final, this is where it all counts.’ That’s putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.

“I trust the work I’ve done. I trust the work my teammates and our staff have done … you never want to approach the game differently or show it more time, effort or respect in the scout, lead-up, recovery, sleep, or hydration.”

The Phoenix didn’t hit the court in Round 18. Their Thursday night final against Perth will mark their first game in over a week in what’s a crucial part of the campaign.

Sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff is fighting to be fit in time for the elimination clash, while the likes of Trey Kell and Gary Browne have experienced injury issues of their own across the NBL23 campaign.

Creek says the extra rest is a double-edged sword heading into a do-or-die game.

“Having a 10-day break can help you with rest, and ‘Rowdy’ (Broekhoff) having his slight injury is going to be close to being back – but you also want to stay in rhythm.

“You want to keep playing, and that’s why teams like Sydney didn’t rest too many of these guys.

“With the finals around the corner they need to stay in form.

“We didn’t mind – we were just sitting there and enjoying the show with the weekend off.”

The Phoenix take on the Wildcats on Thursday night at 6:30pm AEDT in the opening Finals game of NBL23.