Wildcats keeping positive after falling in Bendigo

Perth Wildcats head coach Trevor Gleeson said his side took a positive step, despite falling 71-75 to Melbourne United in Bendigo.

After trailing by10 with three minutes on the clock, a Bryce Cotton burst brought it back to a two-point game with a minute to play, but the visitors weren’t able to complete the fight back.

“I thought we played well for about 35 minutes. There was a five-minute lapse in that third quarter, we might have been fatigued during that period, but our execution was sloppy and our defence wasn’t good through that period,” he said.

“But we got our second wind and gave it a good shot, and we had a chance to tie it up or take the lead with under a minute to go.

“I thought it was a better performance than last week, it was a step in the right direction to hold a team like that to 75 points. We just have to get more productivity from guys on the offensive end.”

The game concludes a wild week for the reigning champions, who flew to Sydney on Mondat as WA went into lockdown, and then moved to Melbourne on Wednesday - significantly disrupting their preparation for the game.

Gleeson said managing the players minutes was a consequence of that.

“I don’t think we shot the ball particularly well and that’s touch, that’s just having a ball in your hand, you try to navigate through it as best as you can,” he said.

“I think I played 12 guys out there, so that’s a big rotation for us.”

Cotton ended the game with 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, while John Mooney added 15 points and seven rebounds.

Gleeson will be looking more offensive support for his import pair when the Wildcats return to action on Thursday, taking on SEM at Melbourne’s State Basketball Centre.

Perth Wildcats 71 (Cotton 24, Mooney 15, Norton 11)

Melbourne United 75 (Landale 16, Baba 14, McCarron 13)