Perth Wildcats lost to the Adelaide 36ers at Eaton Recreation Centre last night 91-99, in their first game of the pre-season.
Angus Brandt top scored for the Wildcats with 22 points, vice-captain Greg Hire also had an impressive night with 17 points, including four three pointers, while Clint Steindl made his debut for the team and recorded three steals.
US imports Bryce Cotton and Derek Cooke Jnr sat out of the game which was played in front of a sell out crowd against Adelaide, who last season finished top of the NBL table.
Hire says there were plenty of positives to come out of the game despite the loss.
“It was the first game collectively as a group, to help show where we’re at. There’s a lot of things we can control so we’ll have a nice little review session, watching the game on video and work on some defensive aspects,” Hire said.
Hire also praised the performance of Angus Brandt during last night’s game: “I think you saw today the impact Gus had. He’s just gone from strength to strength. You saw a little bit of Dexter too, after the work he’s done in the off season,” he said.
The Wildcats take on Adelaide again in Margaret River on Sunday and Hire said he’s enjoyed playing pre-season games close to home.
“We only come down here once a year, so it’s always nice to play a couple of pre-season games at home,” he said.
“We’re on the road for seven games and we won’t be home for a while.”
