Wildcats unbothered by intense schedule

The Perth Wildcats aren’t phased by the prospect of playing three games in five days, as the NBL Cup continues in Melbourne this week.

Perth take on South East Melbourne on Wednesday, before games against Brisbane and Illawarra on Friday and Sunday.

Coach Trevor Gleeson said nothing it's new to his side.

“I think the players prefer to play games than to practice too much. Yes, it’s a high volume of games but there’s no travel involved so I think the guys will enjoy it,” he said.

“It’s three games in five days, but we’ve had worse combinations when we’ve travelled. We’ve actually travelled between New Zealand and back and played three games in in five days.

“It’s what we work on with fitness during the pre-season, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Wednesday’s game will see the Wildcats matching up with the Phoenix for a fifth time this season.

“Playing one team five times out of nine games, it’s quite unique really, you only really get that in the playoffs, to do that in the regular season is a little bit different,” said Gleeson.

“They’re a quality team, they’ve had some really good wins, obviously Mitch Creek is a handful, so we’re going to have to do a good job with it, hopefully better than last time.”

Last time they met the Phoenix, Perth fell 71-96 in their worst defeat of the season, but just three days prior defeated them 106-75 - their biggest win of the year.

Their first two games were also split meaning the Wednesday’s game will decide the season-series.

Bryce Cotton averages 22.3 points per game against the Phoenix, while Mitch Creek leads his team against the Wildcats with 18.8 per game.

South East Melbourne's leading distributor and second-top scorer, guard Keifer Sykes, will miss the game with an ankle injury.

The two sides sit in second and third position in the NBL standings, with the Wildcats holding a 5-3 record and South East Melbourne 6-5.

Tip-off on Wednesday is at 4.30pm WA time from Melbourne’s State Basketball Centre. Watch live on ESPN or SBS On Demand.