South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers NBL25 Tips - Sobey fires as the Phoenix progress

Jeremy Darke

Editor

Last updated: 17 Feb 2025

Listen

Jeremy Darke 17 Feb 2025

Share this article

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers expert predictions for Sunday’s Play-In Game NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 2:30 PM AEDT at John Cain Arena
South East Melbourne Phoenix advance to take on the Hawks in the semifinals.
Phoenix strong defence at home will be the difference

Jez's preview of the S.E.M v Adelaide Play-In Game.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers NBL25 Tips

South East Melbourne will progress to the NBL Playoffs and face the Illawarra Hawks after downing Adelaide comfortably at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers NBL25 Tips
Head to Head
South East Melbourne Phoenix Form & Team News
Adelaide 36ers Form & Team News
South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers Frequently Asked Questions

The Phoenix didn’t have what it took to keep up with the high-scoring Wildcats in Perth in their Seeding Qualifier, however there were plenty of positives to take out of that game fighting back from a 16-point deficit to lead at the half.

A fast start is going to be necessary for the Phoenix, who will not want to chase their tails against a physical frontcourt of Adelaide. The 36ers muscled their way past Sydney in the Play-In Qualifier relying heavily on their three-point shooting to get them past the Kings.

Despite the Phoenix suffering a few big defeats recently, they are a much better team at home, especially on the defensive end, allowing an average of just 90.8 opposition points in their past 10 games at home.

On the other side, Adelaide concedes over 11 more points per game on opposition court than they do at home, averaging 101.76 opposition points as the away team.

Expect Nathan Sobey to exploit Adelaide from the perimeter like he did with his 26 points against the 36ers last time they played, leading the Phoenix to the semifinals.

South East Melbourne have won 10 of their past 11 games as the home team.
Adelaide had a 4-10 record as the away team in NBL25
Adelaide are the 8th ranked defensive team in the NBL averaging 96.4 opposition points and a 46.7FG%
Nathan Sobey averages 19.8 points per game against Adelaide in his career.

Head to Head

2024/25 Match Results

02/02/25: South East Melbourne 105-99 Adelaide

21/12/24: South East Melbourne 106-86 Adelaide

03/10/24: Adelaide 93-83 South East Melbourne

2023/24 Season Series

Adelaide 36ers won 2-1

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

SEM Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	ADE Def
96.1	3	PPG	8	96.4
41.6	5	RPG	7	42.4
46.6%	4	FG%	8	46.7%
33.9%	9	3P%	10	37.4%
10.6	3	TOV	8	11

SEM Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	ADE Off
91.6	6	PPG	5	94.3
41.2	6	RPG	10	38.4
45.9%	5	FG%	2	47.7%
35.5%	5	3P%	3	36.6%
12.3	3	TOV	2	10

South East Melbourne Phoenix Form & Team News

The Phoenix found themselves in early trouble against Perth in the Seeding Qualifier, staring at a 20-4 scoreline after the first 5 minutes. A three-point masterclass from Angus Glover turned things around with S.E.M leading by 5 at halftime, however, all of their hard work was undone in the second half with the Wildcats blowing out the Phoenix 122-105.

In postseason basketball you cannot take your foot off the gas and the Phoenix didn’t play for the full 40 mins against Perth. With Adelaide’s short bench they will want to rectify that in the Play-In Game, and take advantage of the 46 bench points they had against the Wildcats.

Angus Glover stepped up for the Phoenix with a team-high 25 points with Nathan Sobey 22 points and Matt Hurt scoring 24 points, however, it was a quiet game for Jordan Hunter who got into early foul trouble again and played just 12 minutes.

Hunter is vital to this contest and will need to stay in the game against the rampaging Montrezl Harrell, fighting for boards and winning second chance opportunities.

Adelaide 36ers Form & Team News

The 36ers beat Sydney for the fourth consecutive time in their Play-In Qualifier on Thursday at Qudos Arena, going on a 40-19 run either side of the halftime break with captain Dejan Vasiljevic changing the momentum of the game with his 3-point shooting.

Adelaide shot 39.4% from the three point line with Vasiljevic going 7-11 from deep and scoring a team-high 25 points in the match. Montrezl Harrell (18Pts+8Reb+7Ass) and Kendric Davis (24Pts+5Reb+4Ass) were obviously the other contributors as expected.

The 36ers shot at 50% from the field, playing to their strengths against Sydney. Adelaide were the second-most efficient team with a 47.7 FG% while also ranking third with a 36.6 3P% in NBL25. Ranked 7th in rebounds and 10th in opposition rebounds this season, the 36ers focus is on finding their guys in the right shooting areas trusting that Davis, Vasiljevic and Harrell will get the buckets.

Despite having a shorter bench with only three players rotating in against Sydney, Jarell Martin, Sunday Dench and Jason Cadee all had over 16 minutes on the court, much higher minutes than they were in the regular season.