The Adelaide 36ers are in Perth for HoopsFest and looking to return to the winners’ list when they come up against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday. Adelaide arrives in the west following last Friday’s disappointing loss to Tasmania, which ended a run of five straight wins. The Phoenix also suffered defeat in their most recent outing, going down to Perth last Saturday. Before that, they’d won three games in a row, passing 110 points on each occasion. The Sixers and Phoenix are two of the competition’s hottest sides at the moment with the Sixers winning 12 of their last 14 games and the Phoenix coming out on top in six of their last eight. When the sides last met in November, the Sixers came home strong to win by 13 points at John Cain Arena on the back of a 57-38 second half. Sunday’s game in Perth will be the first time the sides have met at RAC Arena and comes at the very early time of 11:30am AWST or 2pm in South Australia. It was meant to see two of the Hungry Jack’s NBL’s MVP candidates coming up against each other, with Bryce Cotton suiting up for the Sixers and Nathan Sobey for the Phoenix, however Sobey was ruled out on Saturday afternoon through illness. Cotton currently leads the competition for scoring (25.3ppg), assists (7.7pg), free throws made (5.9pg) and three pointers made (3.4pg), while being equal leader with injured Brisbane guard Casey Prather for steals per game (2.0). Sobey – who played 121 times in Sixers colours between 2015 and 2019 – had been in a rich vein of form, scoring more than 20 points in six straight games. There's no doubt he will be missed by the Phoenix. Sixers Head Coach Mike Wells says despite the game being top versus second on the ladder, the side hasn’t spoken about there being anything more on the line than any other game. “We're in first place right now, we're going to be in first place after this game,” he said. “We've done a lot of work. This game is game 25 on our schedule, and it's one 33rd of our schedule. That's it. “You have a 50-50 chance to win it by controlling your own energy and your own attitude, and I'm looking forward to it, but it will not define our season, whether we win or lose.” Mike Wells also expressed his hope for extra support from people in Perth given Bryce Cotton spent so much time in the west. “There are more Sixers fans and more blue jerseys around the league,” Wells smiled. “There's more support. I love the team hotels, and when we pull in or out of the arenas, there's definitely more support. The players notice it, the coaches notice it, we all feel it. “We very much appreciate it, so whether they're blue or red jerseys, as long as they say 11 and Cotton on it, we know they're supporting us.” The game will be the 150th at NBL level for Sixer Matt Kenyon, who suited up 50 times in Phoenix colours over the last two seasons before moving to Adelaide. The side will wear its special Summer Jersey. Sunday’s game gets underway at 2:00pm ACDT / 11:30am AWST. If you can’t get to Perth to support the side, every NBL game is live on ESPN through Kayo Sports or Disney+ or you can watch this match on Channel 10.