NBL champion predicts Phoenix fightback

13 Mar 2026

Damon Lowery responds to DJ Vasiljevic’s “delusional” jab, backs Nathan Sobey to bounce back and predicts the Adelaide–Phoenix Playoff Series.

When Damon Lowery tipped the Adelaide 36ers to be swept by South East Melbourne, DJ Vasiljevic understandably fired back. So did his team.

Riding a Bryce Cotton masterclass, the 36ers claimed Game 1 over the Phoenix and now have the chance to book a Championship Series berth with victory on Saturday in enemy territory.

Lowery, however, isn’t backing away from his broader prediction, suggesting the Playoff Series is still headed for a third-game decider.

“Adelaide, see you back in Adelaide for Game 3, where you just might lose on your home court,” he said on NBL Now.

“Let me just say, for all those people out there that want to be a professional predictor, it’s a hard job. It is a hard life out here, man. I’m not a clairvoyant. I can’t see into the future. So my prediction, I thought they would get swept. I was going off form.”

Lowery also said he respected Vasiljevic’s decision to defend his team, after the 36ers guard labelled him “delusional”.

“I predicted, after my prediction, that if DJ Vasiljevic was anywhere near a microphone, his smart arse was gonna say something slick, and I knew it. So I got that one right,” he joked.

“We like the characters, though. A guy like DJ, he’s not the only one in the league who will clap back if he feels his team or himself has been slighted in any way. No issue, because if somebody would have said that about Damon Lowery’s team all them years ago, I would have had something to say back too.”

While Lowery expects South East Melbourne to respond on their home floor and level the Series at 1-1, he called on a star player to lift.

“For South East Melbourne Phoenix, I’m going to put it on Nathan Sobey,” Lowery said.

“I know he almost had a triple-double, but he had one of his worst shooting games. I don’t have a problem with 27 shots, he was trying to put them to the sword and go for 50. I just have a problem with the shooting percentage. I’m going to back Sobey in.”

The Phoenix host the 36ers on Saturday night at John Cain Arena, live on ESPN from 5:30pm AEDT.