"It was a good challenge for us. Even though the result wasn't in our favour it gave us a bit of confidence against four quality bowlers.
"We got ourselves in a position to win a game and it just shows we're a lot closer than what we sometimes believe we are, which puts us in good stead."
Malan said T20 was about making one's own luck.
"It's all down to the intent and energy you bring to the game," he said, mindful some things didn't go CD's way on Friday but it was about dictating the tempo rather than waiting for something to occur.
"We're happy to take it on the chin to say we could have adapted a little quicker but, again, it's part and parcel of what we do on a day-to-day basis."
He reiterated that proceedings were unfolding thick and fast so the onus was on the team to be dynamic and resourceful every time they rolled the dice.
It didn't miss the Stags' attention that on Saturday the Firebirds pipped leaders Auckland Aces at Eden Park by two runs to show they were well on their way to shedding the flogging boys' tag.
"Whatever happens in the next two rounds will potentially put some life into the competition and give us a better understanding of who's heading to the top of the table on the way to the playoffs."
Wellington have been resurgent since sending their two imports, Jade Dernbach, of England, and Evan Gulbis, of Australia, packing after a boozy night out into the wee hours of the morning in Nelson before their loss to the Stags on December 18.
Malan counted his blessings that they had an exemplary import in Mahela Jayawardene, of Sri Lanka, to help mould the team culture.
"Sometimes you're in the dark when the so-called world-class players come into your set up so we're happy to have someone of the calibre of Mahela.
"The man and the character he is are more than any runs he can score for us because what he brings off the park is invaluable to this young group who will be better for it in the long run."
Seamers Ben Wheeler and Blair Tickner were recovering from food poisoning although the former had missed the game on Friday but the latter had soldiered on to take two wickets.
"They had shared a pizza in Nelson but Ticks wasn't as bad as Wheels," he said, revealing Wheeler wasn't up to 70 per cent fit on Saturday but he expected him to be fine today.
While they had brainstormed the merits of using another slow-ball option, in 12th man and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, Malan felt it all boiled down to CD embracing accuracy and clarity in their execution.
While the difference was 10 runs, it's hard going past some hesitation in running between wickets where ones and twos should have been turned into twos and threes because batsmen were guilty of ball watching.
Count the number of runs conceded through sloppy fielding, including letting Corey Anderson off the hook with a less-than-convincing, one-handed effort, might well have added to the difference.
"In the first five games we were brilliant, whether it was half a chance to run out someone or take a catch, we really got on to it," he said but lamenting the absence of that on Friday.
Far be it for Malan to make excuses for his troops but he felt compelled to factor in fatigue after "the world's craziest cricket game of all time" in the one-run loss to Otago Volts last Wednesday.
Having been on the road for a couple of days, he said it was imperative for them to unwind from two games in the space of six days.
"We must make sure we take some mental time away to spend some time with family and friends so when we get down to Wellington on Monday [today] we're ready to go."
