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The Brisbane Bullets return to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Thursday night, looking to bounce back against South East Melbourne Phoenix in captain Mitch Norton’s 400th NBL game and the Bullets' first ever Pink Hoops Game.

The Bullets will have had a full week in between games by the time they hit the Brisbane Entertainment Centre floor once again this Thursday night to take on the Phoenix with tip-off set for 6:30pm local time.

Brisbane come into Round 5 of NBL27 with a 2-3 record while they host a South East Melbourne team who are 2-4.

The Bullets started the season with home victories against the New Zealand Breakers and Illawarra Hawks but they have since suffered defeats against the Sydney Kings, Tasmania JackJumpers and Cairns Taipans – three of the current top four teams.

The Phoenix, meanwhile, won their first game of the season in Perth before three straight defeats to Tasmania, Melbourne and the Wildcats. They bounced back with a win against the Hawks before then losing a Throwdown to United last Saturday night.

Since that loss in Cairns for the Bullets last Thursday night, they have lost Lithuanian point guard Arnas Velička with a lower-leg injury that will keep him sidelined until the start of December.

The Bullets have moved quickly to sign replacement Raul Neto but he won't yet be available for Thursday night's game but Mawot Mag will be who has been signed as an injury replacement for Sam McDaniel.

Mag spent last season at the Taipans before playing this past NBL1 season in the South at the Waverley Falcons where he produced 13.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals a game.

That has now seen him receive another NBL opportunity with the Bullets on a team now trying to avoid a fourth straight defeat in their only game of Round 5 ahead of taking on the Tasmania JackJumpers next Wednesday in an Ignite Cup match up in Hobart.

Bullets coach Will Weaver was glad to have had a full week from last week's game in Cairns to get ready to host the Phoenix now this Thursday.

"The luxury it gives you is to really dive into yourself and you don't have as much pressure to worry about the scout and the first time through you're playing these teams for the first time, and there's a big learning curve for all our new guys to the league and for me and all of us together as a group," Weaver said.

"So what it gives you is the chance to really dig into the details of how we do things as a part of our system and then tailor that towards South East Melbourne two or three days before we see those guys."

Thursday's game will be the first time the two teams have met this season after the Phoenix beat the Bullets in all three meetings back in NBL26.

That started with the 109-86 win at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on October 25 before also winning 103-76 at the same venue on November 20, and then 107-78 in Melbourne on December 20.

That means that the Bullets are attempting to snap a four-game losing run against South East Melbourne and beat them for the first time since a 116-108 victory against the Phoenix at home back on 12 December 2024.

The night will also be dedicated to raising funds and awarness for Tough4T, a charity established to honour the legacy of Queensland basketballer Tiana Mangakahia following her courageous battle with breast cancer.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink and bid on special edition game-worn shooting shirts here.

‍GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs South East Melbourne Phoenix

Tip off: 6:30pm (AEST), Thursday 15 October, 2026

Where: Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel, Kayo and Disney+