Wildcats excited for do-or-die final

Perth Wildcats vice-captain Mitch Norton is feeling confident ahead of his team’s do-or-die blockbuster against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday.

The Wildcats lost the opening game of the semi-final matchup by two points on Thursday.

A shot at the buzzer from Todd Blanchfield would have handed them a thrilling win, but it wasn’t to be.

After the game, coach Trevor Gleeson highlighted the team’s struggles with taking care of the basketball, and Norton said his team knows what it has to do to level the series.

“There’s a lot of lessons to be had. To keep a team like that to 74 points means we’re doing something right on the defensive end, but we did gift them a fair few buckets off turnovers and offensive rebounds as well,” he said.

“That’s something we like to pride ourselves on, crashing the glass, and we probably didn’t put ourselves in the best positions to do so.”

The Wildcats departed Perth for NSW early on Friday afternoon.

The NBL Best Defensive Player finalist is excited for the challenge of a backs-to-the-wall, must-win Final.

“We’ve been a pretty good team on the road all year, it’s a really awesome experience and I know I’m excited by it,” he said.

“There’s 17 of us on the road today, and we get to take on the whole of Wollongong.

“It’s going to be a very fun environment to be in front of and I can’t wait.”

Game Two tips off at 3.30pm WA time on ESPN and free-to-air on VICELAND.

If required, a series-decider will be played at RAC Arena on Monday night.