Greg Hire celebrates his deep court buzzer beater.
Camera IconGreg Hire celebrates his deep court buzzer beater. Credit: Supplied/Getty Images

NBL: Perth Wildcats wary of Illawarra Hawks in grand final rematch

Greg HireJoondalup Times

WE face Illawarra at Perth Arena in a grand final rematch tonight and it’s not going to be easy for us to take two from two to begin the season.

The Hawks will be annoyed having lost to Cairns in the final minute last week after dominating the game.

They have a high octane offence so we can’t let them get their confidence up.

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Star shooter Rotnei Clarke is coming off a 6-8 performance at the three-point line so this is a team we cannot allow too many opportunities on offence.

I thought our defensive effort in the win against Brisbane last Saturday could have been better.

You don’t get many wins when you allow your opponent to shoot more than 50 per cent from the field.

But I thought we acclimatised well to the physicality of the game – it was a tough win.

I felt there was going to be a moment in the game where it would break open for us and that happened at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t watched a couple of replays of the buzzer beater I hit at the end of the third period.

But I’ve only watched it to make sure I didn’t make a fool of myself in the celebration.

I’m an emotional guy so I can get a bit carried away.

I’ve been trying to convince Jarrod Kenny it’s a lot better than the one he landed a couple of years back!

No one expects you to make those shots so I was pretty stoked with the outcome.

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