BIO: Phil Doherty was born in Perth (WA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Perry Lakes basketball program. Doherty received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1994. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1994, 1995).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Phil Doherty made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

1997
After Adelaide eliminated Perth in the 1996 quarterfinals, the Wildcats entered 1997 without Aaron Trahair (to Sydney), Pete Hansen (to Perry Lakes) and Matthew Earp (to Perth Redbacks), while Scott Fisher missed the entire regular season. Coach Adrian Hurley retained captain Andrew Vlahov, Ricky Grace, Todd Lichti, James Crawford, Anthony Stewart, Gavin Vanderputten, Phil Doherty and Ryan Gardiner, adding David Van Dyke (via Newcastle), Greg Brown (via Geraldton), Scott Harkess (via Emporia State) and Nick Lackovic (via the WA state league) to the roster.

Perth opened the season at the Perth Entertainment Centre on April 11, where the second-year forward (2 points) played 18 minutes off the bench as Stewart (17 points) and Grace (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led the Wildcats, but Brian Tolbert (22 points and 6 assists) helped defending champion South East Melbourne win 104-84.

Doherty (3.5 points across 20 games) remained a reserve frontcourt option in his second season, improving his scoring from 2.2 points per game as a rookie and lifting his shooting from 35 per cent to 47 per cent from the field. He played 20 of Perth’s 30 regular-season games, with no injury listed during the season and his ten regular-season non-appearances coming as his opportunities remained limited within the Wildcats’ frontcourt rotation. During 1997, he also won a gold medal with Australia at the FIBA Under-23 World Championships in Melbourne.

Doherty’s best scoring game saw him finish with a season-high 11 points, one point better than his rookie-season high.

One of his strongest rebounding performances came against Canberra at the Perth Entertainment Centre on July 5, where Doherty (4 points and 7 rebounds) played 14 minutes as Grace (20 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals) and Lichti (19 points and 4 rebounds) led Perth to a 97-71 win.

George Banks (10.3 points and 7 rebounds across 7 games) (via Dinamo Sassari) joined the Wildcats in late June and gave Hurley another frontcourt option across seven games.

Lichti (16.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals across 34 games) led Perth in scoring, while Grace (16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 34 games) directed the offence and led the Wildcats in assists, with both appearing in all 34 games. Crawford (14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds across 31 games) remained productive around the basket, shooting 50 per cent from the field and appearing in his tenth consecutive NBL All-Star Game. Van Dyke (14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks across 24 games) led Perth in rebounding and blocks, while Vlahov (13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals across 33 games) and Stewart (13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists across 33 games) rounded out Hurley’s main rotation.

Perth closed the regular season in Townsville on September 26, where Crawford (23 points and 5 rebounds) helped the Wildcats hold off the Suns 102-100, while Derek Rucker (36 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists) and Chris Sneed (16 points and 10 rebounds) led Townsville. The win left Perth fourth with a 17-13 record.

Doherty was not used during Perth’s four playoff games.

The quarterfinal series opened at the Perth Entertainment Centre on October 4, where Grace (18 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals), Lichti (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Vlahov (14 points and 12 rebounds) and Crawford (12 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists) led Perth to an 81-79 win over Brisbane.

Game two moved to the Brisbane Convention Centre, where Grace (25 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals), Vlahov (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists), Van Dyke (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Lichti (13 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Wildcats to an 88-71 win and completed the sweep, with Crawford not playing.

Fisher (10 points and 5.5 rebounds across 2 games) returned for the semifinal series after sitting out the regular season.

The semifinals opened in Perth, where Lichti (20 points and 4 rebounds), Grace (19 points and 4 assists), Fisher (14 points and 6 rebounds) and Van Dyke (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) were Perth’s best, but Chris Anstey (19 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 steals) and Tony Ronaldson (18 points) led South East Melbourne to a 92-82 win.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Grace (16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Van Dyke (13 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led Perth, while Sam Mackinnon (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists) led the Magic as South East Melbourne won 96-69.

The 1997 team-summary material confirms the roster movement, regular-season record and complete playoff path. Doherty’s profile confirms his 20-game totals, 47 per cent shooting, 11-point season high and the additional 1997 Australian Under-23 World Championship gold medal; Perth’s official history independently confirms the Wildcats finished 17-13, fourth and reached the semifinals.

1998
Perth entered the NBL’s 20th and final winter season after finishing fourth at 17-13 and reaching the semifinals in 1997. Adrian Hurley stepped down after five seasons as head coach and Alan Black returned to the Wildcats, with David Van Dyke, George Banks, Scott Harkess and Ryan Gardiner departing. Captain Andrew Vlahov, Ricky Grace, Todd Lichti, Scott Fisher, James Crawford, Anthony Stewart, Gavin Vanderputten, Phil Doherty, Greg Brown and Nick Lackovic remained, while Greg Smith and former Duke guard Thomas Hill (via Jacksonville) joined the roster.

Doherty (4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds across 20 games) remained part of Perth’s reserve frontcourt during his third and final season with the Wildcats. He produced his best season in Perth, improving from 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds the previous year while lifting his field-goal shooting from 47 percent to 53 percent. His opportunities remained limited behind Fisher, Crawford and the returning Vlahov, with Dewey Michaels also joining the frontcourt during the season.

Perth lost four consecutive games between March 6 and March 22 before reversing its form with five straight victories through April 11. Vlahov returned to the lineup in April after missing the opening half of the season, while Michaels, the reigning SBL MVP and Grand Final MVP with the Perth Redbacks, was added after Hill’s nine-game stint ended.

Doherty’s highest-scoring performance of the season was an 18-point game, surpassing the 11-point career high he had recorded the previous year and standing as his best scoring performance during his three seasons with Perth.

Grace (18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.5 steals across 34 games) led Perth in scoring and assists and earned All-NBL Third Team honours. Lichti (17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals across 32 games) provided another major perimeter option, while Fisher (17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds across 32 games) returned to full-time action after knee reconstruction had limited him to two appearances the previous season and led the Wildcats in rebounding. Crawford (16 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 34 games) remained productive inside, while Stewart (11.7 points and 3.3 assists across 34 games) and Vlahov (12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.6 steals across 17 games) added further depth. Crawford, Fisher and Vlahov were selected to the NBL’s 20th Anniversary Team as Perth finished third with a 17-13 record.

Perth opened the elimination finals at Beaton Park on June 12, with Doherty not used as Fisher (37 points) and Lichti (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led the Wildcats to a 95-85 victory. Mat Campbell (27 points and 5 rebounds) was Wollongong’s leading scorer in the final NBL game played at the Snakepit.

Game two moved to Challenge Stadium, where Doherty (2 points) made his only field-goal attempt in 3:29. Fisher (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Lichti (21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led Perth, while Elliot Hatcher (34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals) carried Wollongong as the Wildcats won 120-97 and completed the sweep.

Adelaide visited Challenge Stadium for the opening semifinal, with Doherty not used as Crawford (22 points and 6 rebounds) and Grace (20 points and 5 assists) led Perth. Brett Maher (36 points and 6 assists) made seven three-pointers and Darnell Mee (16 points and 14 rebounds) controlled the glass as the 36ers won 114-97.

Doherty again did not play when the series shifted to Adelaide Arena, where Vlahov (32 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Grace (26 points and 6 assists) led Perth. Mark Davis (32 points and 14 rebounds) led Adelaide to a 117-110 victory, completing the semifinal sweep and ending the Wildcats’ season.

Phil Doherty played five seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Perth Wildcats and the Brisbane Bullets. He averaged 5.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 112 NBL games.