Adelaide coach Joey Wright is relishing the prospect of stepping onto Perth Arena for Game Two of the NBL semi-finals against the Wildcats, despite the 36ers enduring a wretched run at Perth's home fortress in recent years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Since Wright became Adelaide coach in 2013, the Sixers' win-loss record at the 13,000-capacity stadium is 2-10, including back-to-back losses this season and a pair of grand final defeats in 2014.
Despite those western woes, Wright speaks in glowing terms of the place.
"When you walk in there, you feel like you've arrived and you've done something," he said looking ahead to Friday's game.
"It's straight-out an NBA (standard) stadium.
"It's a great place to be a part of and the holistic thought of that is 'I must have done something right, I get to coach in this stadium'.
"If you ask me or any of our coaching staff any place they want to play, it's Perth."
Wright has every right to feel confident of reversing his team's ugly record out west and securing a sweep after the 36ers walloped the Wildcats 109-74 in Saturday's series opener in Adelaide.
It was Perth's second worst finals defeat ever, outshamed only by a 55-point semi-final loss to the now-defunct North Melbourne Giants way back in 1989.
Six Adelaide players reached double digits in the Game One blowout, led by in-form import Josh Childress who was a model of efficiency and economy, finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds while connecting at eight-of-nine from the field.
"Josh was extremely effective," Wright said.
"He did some amazing things out there on the court."He only took nine shots so he was very efficient."
Australian Associated Press