Basketball On The Internet.

THIS was a long round with a whole lot happening and some teams going in to bat two and even three times, making selection of our NBL Team of the Week particularly challenging. Three teams stood out though, Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Perth all confirming they are hard nuts.

Dean Vickerman's defending champion United looked the part in tearing Adelaide apart before warding off the Bullets in Brisbane.

There was much to like about how Melbourne went about its business in continuing its winning streak on to eight.

South East Melbourne withstood the challenge of the JackJumpers down in Hobart, then held off an exciting Cairns team in regional Victoria - two very positive outcomes.

So why did our team of astute electricians and plumbers unanimously vote for the Wildcats this round?

Well largely because although Melbourne did the job on Adelaide and Brisbane, neither team is expected to feature prominently at the season's business end.

And the same pretty much holds true for the Phoenix. Yes, beating Tasmania was solid, but then it is expected to finish last. And Cairns was not expected to do much better.

It was the quality of Perth's win that secured it our Team of the Week honours.

For starters, it humbled Illawarra and the Hawks were in most pundits' Final Four projections this season.

Whether it was plagued by COVID or just down mentally after Western Australia again locked its borders, Perth started in a lethargic fashion which allowed Illawarra to race to a 23-13 buffer at the first break.

But then Vic Law went to work and Bryce Cotton, playing his milestonse 150th NBL game for the Wildcats, lit it up for a game high 24 points as Perth won 94-78.

The Wildcats went 81-55 over three quarters ... and this was in the Hawks' Nest at the Sandpit in Wollongong. Yes. That's Team of the Week stuff.

BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET TEAM OF THE WEEK
Round 8 Perth Wildcats
Round 7 Adelaide 36ers/Brisbane Bullets
Round 6 New Zealand Breakers
Round 3 Melbourne United
Round 2 South East Melbourne Phoenix
Round 1 Tasmania JackJumpers

BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET TEAM OF THE WEAK AS PI$$
Round 8 Not awarded
Round 7 Sydney Kings
Round 3 Adelaide 36ers
Round 2 Not awarded
Round 1 Not awarded