Cotton left "shocked" after fiery clash

Five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton says he was ‘shocked’ that the incident between his Adelaide 36ers and the Brisbane Bullets transpired as it did on Wednesday night.

In the fourth quarter of the Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre’s Ignite Cup clash, the two sides were caught up in an incident, which led to seven players being ejected.

Since then, numerous players, coaches and owners have weighed in on the matter, which has seen the NBL GRP receive 10 requests for review by the NBL Head of Referees.

Now, on his arrival back to Adelaide, three-time NBL champion Cotton opened up on the clash.

“It [the incident] was a little shocking, but at the end of the day, we play in a very intense league, and tempers can flare quickly,” Cotton said during Thursday’s club media availability.

“Lots of thoughts go through your mind in a short span of time, but you have to be as smart as you can, given the situation, but also you want to try to protect your teammate in whatever way you can.

“Contrary to what people saw in the video, things could have been a lot worse, so I'm glad nobody was actually seriously hurt.”

The result itself, a 33-point win by the Sixers, booked their spot in the inaugural Ignite Cup Final to be held on the Gold Coast on Sunday, February 22.

On offer for finalists, Adelaide and New Zealand, is the largest prize pool in NBL history, $400,000, with the victors claiming 75 per cent of that.

That in itself, along with the obvious silverware, Cotton said, was enough motivation for the 36ers to try and create history.

“There’s $300,000 on the line,” Cotton said.

“If we win, we can figure out how that’s split up, but the main priority for us is firstly winning the game.”

The inaugural Final will tip off at 4.30pm AEDT on Sunday, February 22, live on ESPN.