Party poopers: Five-down Bullets crash 36ers' 1986 title bash

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Adelaide 36ers head coach Trevor Gleeson regrets spoiling the club's 40th anniversary of the all-conquering 1986 NBL championship team celebration at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

The 36ers shot just 6-for-32 (18.8%) from three; six-time MVP Bryce Cotton ($473,900) played all 40 minutes but still couldn't overcome a wounded road team, Brisbane, as they lost their sixth game of the season, 96-89.

"Let me say first, I'm disappointed for the club," Gleeson said.

"It was a big week for us, 40 years of '86, so it would have been nice to get a win.

"The first quarter again has cost us. I think we went 5-for-20 from the field, 1-for-8 from the three-point line, and they were scoring pretty much at will.

"We dug ourselves too big a hole. You get 15 down early in the game, and we fought back.

"I thought we got it to two just before the half, and then they pushed it out a little bit in the last minute or so.

"The same happened in the third. We got it back to two, and then they had that 8-0 run and pushed it back to 10.

"We're kind of our own worst enemy sometimes, digging too big a hole to dig ourselves out of."

The '86 team, including club legends Mark Davis, Al Green, Peter Ali, Darryl Pearce, and Scott Ninnis, went 24-2 on their way to the championship.

Bullets head coach Will Weaver said Adelaide's celebration didn't distract his injury-riddled squad.

"Nope," he responded.

"Really good. Congratulations to the 1986 team. I'm super proud of our guys. No one was distracted on our side, and I'm very proud of them."

Weaver has a Scott Roth level challenge. Both teams are without five players. Brisbane moved to 5-5 without rookie guard Max Mackinnon ($200,000), import guard Arnas Velicka ($277,000), Jacob Holt ($176,300), Lat Mayen ($69,000), and Sam McDaniel ($127,600).

NBL Injury Report

Brisbane Bullets – 5 injuries

All five on the NBL list

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Player	Status	Injury	Return
Jacob Holt	Out	Ankle	Round 10
Expected to miss five weeks with the ankle injury from 15 October 2026, Walshly News reported on 21 October. Archie Woodhill suits up in his place.
Max Mackinnon	Out	Concussion	TBC
The Brisbane Bullets said on Saturday 31 October 2026 that Mackinnon is out of their upcoming games because of concussion protocols. He last played against the Cairns Taipans on Thursday 29 October.
Lat Mayen	Out	Undisclosed	TBC
The Brisbane Bullets ruled Mayen out of the Round 7 game against the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday 1 November 2026. The NBL lists the injury as undisclosed and spells his name Lay.
Sam McDaniel	Out	Lower leg	Round 10
Will miss at least six weeks with a lower leg injury, the NBL reported on 9 October 2026 in announcing that Brisbane have signed Mawot Mag as his injury replacement player. He was hurt in Brisbane’s home game against Tasmania on Saturday 3 October, the night he returned from a hand injury, and Brisbane’s update of 7 October ruled him out for about six weeks, with Josh Duach suiting up in his absence. The NBL’s list of 13 October has him back in Round 10.
Arnas Velicka	Out	Lower limb	Early December
Brisbane confirmed on Monday 12 October 2026 that Velicka has been ruled out with a lower limb injury and is expected to return at the start of December; the NBL’s list of 13 October has him back in Rounds 11 to 12. He was hurt in the Bullets’ game against the Cairns Taipans on Thursday 8 October. Brisbane have signed Raul Neto as his injury replacement player, the NBL announced on 13 October. Olgun Uluc of ESPN had reported on 10 October, citing sources, a quad injury of about eight weeks. Velicka was averaging 13.8 points and a league-leading 10.2 assists in NBL27.

Injury, status and return come from the NBL’s list, read on Sunday 1 November 2026, with our own reporting in the notes. Every NBL player, club by club, in the NBL Injury Report.

The Bullets brought in NBA veteran Raul Neto ($277,000) to cover for Velicka, who is expected back after the FIBA Break. Neto finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in 31:11 minutes.

"I think just controlling the game a little bit," Neto said.

"I've said from the beginning, I'm not out there to score points, make numbers or anything like that. I'm here to help the team however is needed.

"Not only on offence but also on defence, understanding our defensive way of playing with different coverages, staying focused and making sure everybody's focused if we have a little moment where one guy is not locked in.

"All of those things are important. It's something, with my experience, I can bring to the team. I think that was the biggest part of my game tonight."

The Bullets jumped on the 36ers early, leading 30-17 at quarter time and 50-43 at the half.

"Getting lost in the details that drive winning," Weaver said.

"That's the mission that we're all on as a program and as professionals.

"We're each trying to do our little details. I've got some different ones to take care of. The point guards have got some to take care of. The big guys have got some to take care of.

"But getting lost in those details, agnostic to who's healthy, what position am I playing, and who am I matched up on. It's like: 'Yep, focus on how I can do the next thing to help our team win'.

"Those are the micro steps of progress that we're taking as a program to get to a place where the macro becomes the thing that eventually we will become."

Neto has fit in seamlessly, and both he and Weaver revealed what they've talked about since he arrived four games ago.

"Me and Raul were laughing at our short little practice with a bunch of injured players that we had in Brisbane before we came down here: 'Isn't this so much like our old NBA life?'" Weaver said.

"'All right, nice to meet you. You're starting at the three. You're going to be in this coverage when that happens, and you're going to be guarding this dude, except for when you're guarding this dude'."

"It's not easy to play in that environment, in that paradigm, if you haven't been exposed to it before.

"When I was coaching in Paris, there were players who struggled to adapt to some of the things we were trying to do, and there were other players who really thrived.

"We've got a really high percentage of our guys right now who are thriving and embracing the variability you have to have if you're going to play these guys tonight, Perth on Wednesday and Melbourne United on Saturday.

"You can't think you're going to walk into each of these games and apply the same tool to the different job.

"It's very often more reliant on what has worked at different previous stops.

"Around the league, too often I feel like people want the players to adjust to their style or their system. It's easy for me to adjust.

It's not fair to think that we bring in Raul from Salt Lake and: 'OK, now you're going to learn everything I think is fun about basketball and do stuff that worked for me in Paris'.

"I think that's wrong-headed."

Neto added: "I've said in other interviews how easy it has been to adapt, not just on the court.

"When Will first called me, one of the things he said was: 'This is a great group of guys'. He wasn't lying about it.

"I got to Brisbane, and we travelled the next day on a road trip. You're sharing a room with somebody you've never been with.

"Everybody on that team has really helped me adapt on and off the court. I think it has shown in the games. I feel really comfortable playing with those guys, and I feel like I've played with them before.

"That's also the job of Will, adapting, like he said, and making sure I'm comfortable and everybody's comfortable with what we're doing on the court.

"I'm really, really happy, and I'm having fun."

Watch

NBL27

Adelaide 36ers vs Brisbane Bullets | Round 7 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Adelaide 36ers take on the Brisbane Bullets in Round 7 of NBL27 on November 1, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Brisbane Bullets beat the Adelaide 36ers 96-89 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Round 7 of NBL27, without Lat Mayen and Max Mackinnon (concussion), moving to 5-5 three days after their 22-point home loss to Cairns. Adelaide are 5-6.
• Brisbane won the first quarter 30-17 and the third 26-23, and Adelaide won the second 26-20 and the fourth 23-20. Brisbane led 50-43 at half-time and 76-66 at the last change, and never trailed, leading from Taine Murray's opening three, with the only tie at 10-10.
• Tyrell Harrison ($336,100) top-scored for Brisbane with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 10-from-13 before fouling out with 5:52 left, and Bryce Cotton ($473,900) led the game with 27 and nine assists on 9-from-25, including 2-from-12 from three, playing all 40 minutes.
• Adelaide's 11-0 run to start the second turned 30-17 into 30-28, and a 7-0 run in the third made it 52-50, before Nate Hinton ($277,000) and Jaylin Williams ($277,000) hit back with eight straight for 60-50. Murray's three made it 90-75 with 4:26 left, and Adelaide got within six three times in the last two minutes, the last at 95-89 with 51 seconds left.
• Brisbane made 13-from-37 from three to Adelaide's 6-from-32, a 21-point gap in a seven-point game. Adelaide won the points inside the arc 52-46 and at the line 19-11, took 21 offensive rebounds and turned it over nine times to Brisbane's 17, and still could not make up the difference.

Milestones

• Cotton played his 310th NBL game and moved to 7,335 career NBL points.
• Mitch Norton ($160,600) played his 404th NBL game and moved to 2,914 career NBL points.
• Zylan Cheatham ($339,500) moved to 950 career NBL points.
• Corey Webster ($97,000) played his 292nd NBL game
• Matt Kenyon ($69,000) moved to 477 career NBL rebounds.

Brisbane Bullets

• Tyrell Harrison ($336,100) top-scored with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 10-from-13, including six offensive rebounds and 10 points in the third quarter, and fouled out with 5:52 left.
• Nate Hinton ($277,000) had 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals on 8-from-13, with four turnovers.
• Raul Neto ($277,000) had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists on 5-from-10, including 2-from-6 from three.
• Taine Murray ($99,700) had 12 points and five assists on 4-from-14, all four makes from three on 12 attempts.
• Archie Woodhill ($58,500) scored nine off the bench on 3-from-8, all three makes from three, one in each of the first three quarters.
• Jaylin Williams ($277,000) had seven points and five rebounds on 2-from-6, with four turnovers.
• Mitch Norton ($160,600) had three points, four rebounds and seven assists off the bench in 17 minutes, the most assists for Brisbane.
• Brisbane shot 36-from-74 from the field, 13-from-37 from three and 11-from-14 at the line, with 47 rebounds, 25 assists and 17 turnovers.

Adelaide 36ers

• Bryce Cotton ($473,900) top-scored with 27 points, nine assists and two steals on 9-from-25, including 2-from-12 from three and 7-from-8 at the line, with 12 of his points in the second quarter.
• Nick Rakocevic ($188,400) had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists on 7-from-13, going 5-from-10 at the line.
• Zylan Cheatham ($339,500) had 17 points, seven rebounds and nine assists on 7-from-11.
• John Jenkins III ($152,100) scored 12 off the bench with four rebounds on 3-from-14, including 2-from-9 from three.
• Keanu Rasmussen ($69,000) had seven points on 3-from-10, including 1-from-6 from three, and four fouls in 14 minutes.
• Jacob Rigoni ($69,000) had three points and two rebounds on 1-from-3 in 18 minutes, his three making it 90-82 with 2:16 left.
• Matt Kenyon ($69,000) had two points and three rebounds off the bench in 14 minutes, two of them offensive.
• Adelaide shot 32-from-80 from the field, 6-from-32 from three and 19-from-29 at the line, with 42 rebounds, 28 assists and nine turnovers.