Ingles’ 17-year homecoming spoiled by two points to Adelaide rivals
On the NBL’s opening night, Joe Ingles made a stellar return to Australian basketball, but it was the Adelaide 36ers who escaped with a hard-earned 97-95 road victory over his Melbourne United.
Melbourne United debuted a formidable roster, utilising their three marquee signings - Ingles, Cole Anthony and Sam Waardenburg - as high-impact players off the bench.
Joe Ingles. Daniel Pockett
The 38-year-old Ingles, bringing the pedigree of a 12-year NBA career and recent playoff experience as a veteran leader for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was an immediate standout for the home side.
It was his first NBL game since 2009 and the star made his mark, trash talking Jacob Rigoni after scoring on the Sixers player but was unable to find victory at RAC Arena in Perth. United fell to the Sixers by just two points.
Reunited and accustomed to winning, head coach Trevor Gleeson and superstar Bryce Cotton led the 36ers to an impressive first-up win.
The two were jubilant in the post-game press conference after the victory, Cotton admitting the games were the “easiest” part as pre-season practices with Gleeson have been “gruelling”.
Adelaide showcased incredible resilience to hold off their rivals, pulling off the upset despite missing two key players before tip-off and losing another two during the game.
Adelaide set the tone early, riding a wave of six three-pointers in the first quarter, the 36ers took a narrow 25-23 advantage into the first break and maintained their composure down the stretch to clinch the two-point thriller.
Looking ahead, Melbourne United will face the South East Melbourne Phoenix in a Thursday night derby. Meanwhile, Adelaide will head west for a highly anticipated clash against the Perth Wildcats.
Both the Wildcats and Phoenix played the other match on Saturday night with the latter winning 100-79.
Dash Daniels was the star for South East Melbourne, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Commentator John Casey said there’d be people “in other areas of the world excited about” his performance.
“(They’d be) no more excited than his agent Daniel Moldovan in thinking the prospects that can be,” Mark Worthington added on Nine’s coverage.
“He was outstanding tonight.”
