United coach draws line after star’s ejection

The final score may have read 102-95, but there was a sense for the majority of Throwdown 35 that Melbourne United were in control.

A big part of that was the dazzling offensive play by superstar guard Cole Anthony.

The NBA talent scored 27 in the first half, the most by any player in a half this season, before going on to finish with 39.

As impressive as that was, he received a technical foul for complaining to the officials, before getting ejected late in the piece for a flagrant foul on South East Melbourne’s Nathan Sobey.

It coincided with the Phoenix fighting their way back into the game late.

“I want my guys to live on the edge,” United coach Jacob Chance said.

“We’re flexible with personalities, we aren’t flexible with standards.

“I want that competitive edge. I don’t care where we are, who we’re playing. That’s a weapon for our group.

“[Was Cole’s technical in those standards?] No, the answer is no.

“We challenge him to be better in those scenarios and he knows that.

“That counts as a personal foul, so it gives an opportunity to then foul out or be out of games, which we’ve seen this year.”

Anthony’s on-court performance, which solidified his spot as the League’s second-top scorer (averaging 25.6 points per game) behind only Bryce Cotton (26.6), illustrated how United chose to sign him for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season.

“Cole’s been recruited for a reason, right? He’s got a role in this team,” Chance added.

“When we put all the pieces together, Sam [Waardenburg], JO [Josh Oduro], CG [Chris Goulding], LT [Luke Travers], was like, what’s this last piece that we need?

“We felt like we needed that perimeter scoring off the bounce.

“Especially when you look at last year’s two [Championship Series] teams, how do you compete with Kendric [Davis] and Bryce in those moments when the game slows down a little bit come playoff time?

“Hopefully we can get there, but that’s his role on this team.”

The 8-6 United will look to make it two wins in a row when they host New Zealand at John Cain Arena on Saturday from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN, 9Go! and 9Now.