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IT was deja vu tonight for Adelaide fans as the 36ers coughed up an 18-point buffer to South East Melbourne, with a rabid Nathan Sobey running amok for a career-high 41 points, while Sydney put the Wildcats out to pasture in their rival NBL semi final, a 29-16 final quarter revealing the depleted home side had hit the wall.

Leading by 18 and controlling the play from late in the first quarter to halftime, Adelaide appeared to have booked its first Grand Final berth since 2018 for a shot at its first championship since 2002.

Nine points in the last 52 seconds of the first period sent the 36ers into the first break on a high.

Nick Rakocevic sent a 21-19 lead out to 24-19 on an unlikely 3-point swish, stunning the John Cain Arena crowd by repeating the dose 18 seconds from the break.

Not only that, but Phoenix centre Jordan Hunter clipped him on his way past, turning it into a potential four-point play. Rakocevic aborted the free throw but Flynn Cameron was there for the offensive rebound, the ball settling in Bryce Cotton's hands for the final play.

And as cool as you like, Cotton landed a long-range 3-point missile which sent the 36ers into the break ahead 30-21 and on a high.

As he had in Game 1, Owen Foxwell collected two early fouls and as Adelaide rolled on to lead by 18, South East did not even resemble the team which took that initial clash the distance.

Late buckets by Sobey and Wes Iwundu trimmed the deficit back to 44-57 by halftime, Sobey carrying his team with 20 points.

And then it happened. Last season the Mike Wells-coached 36ers couldn't hold onto a 24-point lead in a KO final against South East and this time 18 was insufficient as Sobey made his intentions clear from the restart.

He opened the third quarter with consecutive threes for 50-57 and was unstoppable, continuing on to 17 points for the period before he was cooked.

Along the way John Brown tied the game at 60-60 before Cotton (29 points at 50 per cent) restored order. It was brief, Sobey with another pair of triples (he struck 8 of them at 50 per cent) as the Phoenix skipped away.

Isaac Humphries started the game with its first two baskets, including a dunk, and looked set for a big one. But two quick fouls saw Wells sub him out, then virtually forget about him - not that easy to do with a 7-foot human being.

But Humphries played just 6:17, less than Isaac White, Matt Kenyon or John Jenkins. Wasted much?

Cotton tied the game again at 66-66 on a pair of free throws - he was gifted 14 for the night and converted 12 - but then it was Angus Glover's time to shine.

The Glove surrounded a driving lay-up with two 3-point makes in an 8-point outburst that sped the buffer out to 74-66.

Cotton again nailed a triple and Dejan Vasiljevic and Zylan Cheatham ensured the 36ers stayed alive, but with Malique Lewis now also a factor, South East was finding all the right answers.

Lewis' four offensive rebounds (and three steals) down the stretch and Brown's six O boards for the game were pivotal as the Phoenix refused to allow Adelaide back into the match.

Now for Game 3 on Tuesday.

In Perth, down Dylan Windler but with Ben Henshall making threes, the Wildcats stayed right with Sydney throughout the first half, and that was despite the Kings successfully eliminating Kristian Doolittle as a threat.

Matthew Dellavedova's late D on Doolittle in Sydney's Game 1 win was in vogue from tip-off and while the Perth import eventually finished with 15 points, it was at 20 per cent, with four turnovers to boot.

Why the Wildcats did not employ a strategy for Delly's D after seeing it in Game 1 will be a mystery coach John Rillie can wrestle with through the off-season.

The Kings had Kendric Davis eventually coming through for 27 points but Makuach Maluach was the star who drove Sydney straight into the grand final.

Brought off the bench so Dellavedova could harass Doolittle from the outset, Maluach responded in the best way possible, his 23 points at 67 per cent, with 3-of-5 threes, 8 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. His dunk also was a punctuation point.

As brave as the Wildcats were, by the last quarter and only down 59-60, they had run their race, the Kings with too many weapons.

NBL PLAYOFFS 2026

Best-of-3 Semi Finals

1 v 4

Game 1: Sydney Kings 105 (Davis 35, Craig 20, Dellavedova 11, Cooks 10; Craig 9 rebs; Davis 6 assts) d Perth Wildcats 104 (Doolittle 31, Duke 20, Lual-Acuil 19, Windler 17, Pepper 12; Lual-Acuil 12 rebs; Duke 8 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 10,132

Game 2: Sydney Kings 89 (Davis 27, Maluach 23, Craig 12, Dellavedova 11; Maluach 8 rebs; Dellavedova, Davis 5 assts) d Perth Wildcats 75 (Henshall 20, Doolittle 15, Pepper 12; Lual-Acuil 14 rebs; Duke 5 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 9,711 Sydney wins 2-0, advances to Championship Series

2 v 3

Game 1: Adelaide 36ers 104 (Cotton 42, Vasiljevic 17, Rakocevic 14, Cheatham 13; Rakocevic 10 rebs; Flynn, Cheatham, Cotton 5 assts) d South East Melbourne Phoenix 97 (Sobey 23, Glover, Hunter 14, Clark 12; Sobey 10 rebs; Sobey 7 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 10,055

Game 2: South East Melbourne Phoenix 101 (Sobey 41, Brown 12, Glover, Clark 10; Brown 7 rebs; Foxwell 7 assts) d Adelaide 36ers 92 (Cotton 29, Rakocevic 18, Vasiljevic 14, Cheatham 12; Rakocevic 10 rebs; Cameron 8 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 5,600 Series tied 1-1

Game 3: Tuesday, March 17 in Adelaide

KO Qualifying Final

Perth Wildcats 95 (Lual-Acuil 28, Doolittle 24, Windler 18; Lual-Acuil 12 rebs; Doolittle, Henshall 6 assts) d Melbourne United 77 (Doyle 13, Edwards, Walker 12; Edwards 8 rebs; Delany 3 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 6,731. Wildcats advance to semi finals v Sydney Kings.

Qualifying Final (3v4)

South East Melbourne Phoenix 111 (Sobey 24, Foxwell 18, Clark 16, Glover 12; Brown 8 rebs; Sobey 7 assts) d Perth Wildcats 94 (Doolittle 22, Windler 13, Lual-Acuil, Henshall, Duke 11; Huefner, Lual-Acuil, Doolittle 6 rebs; Windler 7 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 3,891 Phoenix progress to semi finals v Adelaide 36ers.

Elimination Final (5v6)

Melbourne United 82 (Delany 33, Doyle 19, Krebs 11; Krslovic 7 rebs; Walker, Doyle 6 assts) d Tasmania JackJumpers 68 (Marshall 20, Johnson, Bannan 16, Campbell 12; Deng 9 rebs; Campbell 6 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 5,071. Melbourne advances to KO final with Perth Wildcats.