Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge has declared his team happy to be underdogs as they face a must-win NBL clash against the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday. The Hawks kept their playoff hopes alive with a 110-95 home victory over the Cairns Taipans on Monday, improving to a 12-13 record with three games remaining.
The win moved Illawarra into a tie for fifth place with the Bullets, while Adelaide sits narrowly ahead in fourth. Beveridge acknowledged his team cannot afford another loss but insisted they feel no pressure ahead of the crucial matchup.
“If we lose we’re out and we know how tough it’s going to be in Brisbane, but we’re still in it, we feel good about ourselves and we’re not putting any pressure on ourselves,” Beveridge said. “We’ve been written off for weeks—probably the whole season—and that’s okay. We’re not worried about that. We just want to finish as best as we can.”
The Hawks will need to contain Brisbane’s potent three-point shooting, which Beveridge identified as a key threat. “Brisbane are the best three-point shooting team in the league and if we allow them to shoot the way they normally do and move the ball they’ll beat us, so we have to defend that three-point line,” he said.
A bright spot for Illawarra was the performance of former NBL MVP Cedric Jackson, who posted 13 points, 10 assists and three steals against Cairns. Jackson emphasized the need to replicate that intensity in Brisbane. “The way we played the second half, that’s how we have to approach it in Brisbane. Everything’s on the line and we’re just going to have to go into a hostile environment and try to get another win,” Jackson said.
