BIO: Anzac Rissetto was born in Auckland (NZ) and grew up in the city’s southern suburbs. Growing up without his father and approached by gangs, it was his mother who lead him towards basketball and put him on the straight and narrow. He would go on to attend Auckland Grammar School where he was coached by former New Zealand national team player Lindsay Tait.

Later on he would attend a basketball camp run in New Zealand by NBA star Steven Adams who would became a mentor to Rissetto.

FAMILY: Rissetto is a descendant of one of the founders of NZ rugby, Thomas Ellison. He is also related to Tamati Ellison and former NFL star Riki Ellison.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Anzac Rissetto made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 21 years of age. He scored five points in his first game.

Rissetto joined the Phoenix as a development player for the NBL23 season as the Phoenix entered NBL23 hoping to put the memories of an injury-plagued season behind them. The team’s core group of Ryan Broekhoff, Izaya Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, Cameron Gliddon, Reuben Te Rangi, and co-Captains Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam all returned, imports Trey Kell III and Gary Browne were added to bolster the backcourt, and big man Alan Williams signed to replace Zhou Qi.

Qi, who was initially thought to be returning to China before a last-minute change, saw him re-sign and creating a ‘twin towers’ situation with Williams that many wondered how it would work.

The Phoenix’s opening game saw them take the court without Broekhoff, Kell and Browne, all unavailable due to pre-season injuries, and Qi’s arrival still two weeks away. As a result, Adnam was inserted into the Phoenix’s starting five and had a career-high scoring night against Tasmania. The efforts of Adnam (30 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists), Mitch Creek (23 points and 6 rebounds) and Alan Williams (12 points and 7 rebounds) saw South East Melbourne defeat Tasmania (84-79) and had fans excited about the season to come.

In the games where South East Melbourne fielded all five of their starters, they were one of the most well-balanced, impressive units in the competition. The problem is that it rarely happened, with Qi (6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists) playing just nine games before returning home for family reasons, Kell (12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) missing five games due to broken ribs, and Broekhoff (10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) missing a third of the season due to a persistent hamstring issue.

Mitch Creek (23.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists), who was the only starter to appear in every game, reached a new level as he attempted to cover the numerous gaps across the team, becoming an MVP candidate in the process.

Qi’s early exit from the season led to increased burn for the likes of first-year players Grant Anticevich (2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds) and Anzac Rissetto (1.2 points and 0.4 rebounds), whilst perimeter players Broekhoff, Kell and Browne (12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals) all playing just 61 of a possible 84 regular season games opened the door for Adnam (8.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) and Te Rangi (5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds) to step into the starting line-up.

The glut of injuries also saw big minutes for relative unknowns Junior Madut (4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds) and Owen Foxwell (3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals), who both delivered big games when called upon.

South East Melbourne was able to reach the second spot on the ladder after a shaky start, but almost as soon as they arrived, they saw injuries derail the team, falling to fifth place (15-13) and having to face Perth in the Play-In Tournament.

Although the Phoenix were without sharpshooter Broekhoff, they entered their Play-In Qualifier against the Wildcats as favourites. Explosive games from Perth import duo Bryce Cotton (26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals) and Brady Manek (24 points) halted South East Melbourne’s playoff run (106-99) and left Phoenix fans lamenting yet another ‘almost’ season.

2023/24
The 208cm big man became a cult hero at the Phoenix due to his immense and vigorous support of his teammates from the bench at Phoenix home games, often spurring his team and getting the crowd involved.

“Re-signing with the Phoenix for another two years was a no-brainer for me, to help me continue to grow and become the best version of myself both on and off the court. I can’t wait to see what the next two years has in store for us.” said Rissetto upon re-signing with South East Melbourne.

Anzac Rissetto played two seasons the South East Melbourne Phoenix. He averaged 1.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0 assists in 23 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.