‘They’re no.1 for a reason’: Rillie reflects on Wildcats’ exit

For the third straight season, the Perth Wildcats have fallen just short of reaching the Championship Series.

Saturday’s 14-point loss to Sydney at RAC Arena saw them lose their Playoff Series to the Kings 2-0, which follows series losses against Melbourne (2-1) and Tasmania (2-1) in previous years.

Despite the result, coach John Rillie explained how proud he was of the team’s growth during the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 season.

“You're always disappointed to end a season like this, and we gave it a crack, but they (the Kings) have a lot of quality and experience that wore us down,” Rillie said in the post-game press conference.

“We haven't achieved our goal of the championship, and the last three years we've had a chance by reaching this point, and it's disappointing, but there's also a lot of positives for us to take.

“This was a great group to coach, and I'm proud of what we achieved this year and the growth of everyone.

“All our young group members have moved forward in their own professional development this year and are maturing nicely, but you can’t be satisfied and [have to keep working].

“We're going to keep working, stick with what we do, and keep growing and chasing that ultimate dream.”

Reflective on the game and series, Rillie admits his team had their chances but didn't grab them with both hands like the regular season champions, Sydney, did.

“We had a couple of possessions where we relaxed and let them get the game on their terms in the second half [of Game 2], and that becomes tough to turn it around against a good team like that,” he said.

“Sydney is the number one defensive team for a reason, and they showed that again in this series, especially in the second half tonight.”

Rillie, who’s spent time with Kings coach Brian Goorjian, credited a lot of those Sydney performances to the seven-time Coach of the Year.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time around Goorj, and his elite skill is getting guys to buy into his vision,” he said.

“For him to still connect with his players as he does is a truly special talent.”

Perth will now turn its attention to the off-season, with Kristian Dootlittle, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, Dylan Windler, Ben Henshall, Jaron Rillie, Sunday Dech, Noa Kouakou-Heugue, Cameron Huefner and Lat Mayen (club option) under contract for NBL27.