NBL news 2023: Melbourne United’s devastating exit up close and personal

THE brutality of sport was never more evident than Melbourne United’s heartbreaking ride down to wire for a place in the finals. Mick Randall went along for the emotion-fuelled finale.

Melbourne United produced a pulsating 40 minutes of playoff-intensity basketball to knock off Adelaide in the penultimate game of the NBL season, only to have their hearts ripped in two on the other side of the country.

It came down to the last basket of the season, but Perth beat Sydney by 12 points to take Melbourne’s spot in the top six — by 0.06 per cent — and end its season in heartbreaking fashion.

Michael Randall went behind the scenes as Dean Vickerman’s team handled its business before the ultimate heartbreak.

There’s a nervous energy among the United camp two hours before their seasondefining clash.

A quiet buzz creates a feeling something special is about to unfold at John Cain Arena.

Assistant coach Justin Schueller knows his team is in an uncomfortable situation.

If United can somehow win by 40 points, a spot in the top six is guaranteed. Perth’s loss to Cairns two nights earlier opened the door further for Melbourne. A win over Adelaide, coupled with a Wildcats’ stumble against Sydney would ensure qualification.

‘NOBODY CAN F***

WiTH Us’

Players gather in the belly of JCA and Vickerman kicks things off by revealing Adelaide coach CJ Bruton has made a big change to his starting line-up.

Young tyro Kyrin Galloway is in the first five, an indicator the Sixers plan to push the pace.

Vickerman isn’t displeased. He wants to make it an up and down contest, given the task ahead, his plan to play with a breakneck tempo to start, with the intention to dial it back if and when it is needed.

Vickerman commands the room, players listen intently as he picks apart the mechanics of carving up the Sixers using tape from the last time the two teams met.

“Quick decisions, good pace all night, hunt great threes,” Vickerman tells his charges.

On the defensive side, Schueller’s domain, United want to make Adelaide play five-on-five as often as possible, denying a numerical advantage.

“Tonight is proactive v reactive on defence,” Schueller said.

“You gotta f***ing use your voice. Whatever’s called (on defence), you live with it, we can problem solve on the back end of things.”

The 20-minute pre-game meeting ends with a package of steals, blocks, charges and fast offence, set to a soundtrack of Coast Contra’s banger Never Freestyle.

It’s what Vickerman wants to see and it gets the players hyped for the task.

Hell, even I want to crash through the glass door on the way out.

“I want to see just absolute confidence, aggression, fearlessness, picture us playing in that mindset while executing everything that we’ve been talking about, nobody can f*** with us,” Barlow, who is out with concussion, finished on.

It’s up to them, now.

EArLY CONTrOVErsY

Point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes comes out swinging with eight points in the first quarter as both teams launch a barrage of threes, but nothing separates them at the first break.

The trade blows again in the second, Adelaide takes a one-point lead into the long break after a Goulding three from just inside the halfcourt that almost raised the roof is waved away.

An image of Goulding getting the shot off with 0.1 seconds remaining on JCA’s main scoreboard does the rounds on Twitter, leaving United fans angry, given the importance of points to the makeup of the finals.

But the club says the scoreboard clock isn’t official — it’s the clock above the rim that the timers follow.

TUCk sHOP OPEN

Young import Rayjon Tucker leads the way on the court and off it. He’s got 17 at the half and a huge block that the vocal Barlow raves about.

“Keep running you can see it on their face, they’re not used to playing like this,” Tucker says in a bid to inspire his teammates to run over the top of the Sixers.

It’s injured father figure and basketball genius Barlow who takes over from there.

“They’re super vulnerable,” Barlow says.

“Early, loud communication on defence. (Ian) Clark, Sunday (Dech), hit a couple tough ones — we live with that.

“Defensively for them, Sunday and (Antonius) Cleveland are doing a good job on the ball and trying to cover everything for them by fighting hard.”

Big import Marcus Lee walks in late, a little cross of band-aids on his left cheek to patch up a knock he copped in the second.

They haven’t opened up the enormous margin they’d hoped for, so Vickerman wants his group to go back to being “solid”.

It works — they score eight points in the first minute-and-a-half to turn the deficit into a lead and they carry it into the last break up seven.

It should have been the springboard they needed to establish a big gap, but a calamitous opening minute helped the Sixers bring the margin back to two.

Vickerman calls a standing time-out his players gathering around on court as he gave them what-for.

Another time-out came and tensions went through the roof when Cleveland landed a three that gave Adelaide a 93-91 lead.

ArE THE sixErs ABOUT TO rUiN THEir sEAsON?

Not on Tuck’s watch. The lightning fast dynamo poured in 10 points in the last three minutes, including a three-pointer as time expired that set Perth’s winning target against Sydney at 11.

THEY CELEBrATE AHEAD OF A NErVOUs TWO HOUrs.

Perth jumps out to a 23-point lead early in the last quarter and it looks curtains. But the Kings storm back and a DJ Vasiljevic three with 53 seconds left reduces the margin to eight and puts United in — momentarily.

But Bryce Cotton makes two and then Brady Manek pots a pair of free throws — after a review that had the United crew biting its nails and then Vasiljevic misses a pair of three-point tries that leaves Melbourne heartbroken.

The review will show an almost completely new look roster, which lost its starting centre Ariel Hukporti to injury and only got half a season out of Shea Ili should be proud it even had a chance to make the top six.

But it will only create a hunger to bounce back with a vengeance, the league’s giants wounded by a first season without final basketball in five years under Vickerman.