Perth Wildcats have opened their 2026/27 NBL campaign with a disappointing defeat, going down to South East Melbourne Phoenix by 21 points at RAC Arena.

Even without their long-time leading scorer Nathan Sobey due to back tightness, the Phoenix still managed to well and truly outshine their hosts on the offensive end, sending the Red Army home disappointed by running away with a 100-79 victory.

Kristian Doolittle started his season with a fine showing for the Wildcats, scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds while also attempting to fill his side’s play-making deficit by dishing out seven assists.

Jo Lual-Acuil (20 points, eight rebounds), Elijah Pepper (19 points) and captain Jesse Wagstaff (11 points) also had solid nights, which came in vain as Perth had to work hard for every point without either of their recognised point guards.

For the Phoenix, 18-year-old, NBA draft prospect Dash Daniels starred in his first game since a cross-town move from Melbourne United, posting a line of 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The Wildcats missed three-pointers in four of their first five trips down the floor in a sluggish offensive start before being sparked to life by Doolittle, who drilled their next three long shots on his way to 13 first-quarter points.

Having stayed in touch by successfully going to the interior in the first term, the Phoenix found their range from distance in the second, powering into the lead on the back of a quick 14-1 run.

South East Melbourne missed only four of their 17 shots inside the arc across the first two terms, getting whatever they wanted when they attacked the basket.

By contrast, a 25-footer from Pepper was the only three-pointer Perth made of the eight they attempted in a term which was both offensively turgid and lacked defensive intent, which resulted in their five-point quarter-time advantage becoming a 12-point half-time deficit.

Some improved defensive intensity after the main break translated to the other end for Perth, who defied the absences of Brandon Knight and Jaron Rillie to get into their offence without any major issues in the third quarter.

And when they needed a spark, it was their captain who provided it in the first game of his 18th NBL campaign. Wagstaff capped off the term by drilling a catch and shoot three-pointer, drawing a foul in trademark fashion to earn a pair of free throws he converted and attacking the basket for a lay-up.

Doolittle’s fourth three-pointer tied the scores inside the opening minute of the final term but Daniels took over from there, stacking on eight points in the final frame — including two easy ones which came after the Wildcats’ debutant nominated replacement player Jimmy Whitt had an unfortunate slip-up in the backcourt.

As Perth’s offence began to splutter, sharpshooter Tanner Krebs (25 points) nailed his fifth long shot before tossing an alley-oop Jordan Hunter converted to erase any doubt over which way the result was heading.