Bruce embraces strange Sydney return

After seven seasons and three NBL championships with the Sydney Kings, Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans point guard Shaun Bruce admits old habits almost got the better of him when he returned in Taipans colours at Afterpay Arena on Sunday.

Facing his former club for the first time, Bruce scored 13 points in Cairns’ 111-90 loss, but even before stepping onto the court, the experienced point guard had to adjust.

“It was a strange experience to be on the other side,” Bruce said.

“Seven years I’ve walked in and gone to the left and went to do it again. I almost walked into the wrong locker room.

“But it was honestly a cool experience, fun to be on the other side.”

With his Sydney return now behind him, Bruce’s attention has quickly shifted to helping a new-look Taipans group build chemistry early in the season.

“As a team, we’ve got a lot to learn and we’ll keep getting better,” he said.

“Especially in this early part of the season, outside of three guys, we’re all pretty new.

“How we go about speeding up that process lies on me and Fordey and a lot of the other older guys and the leaders.”

The Taipans will have an immediate opportunity to respond, with a short turnaround before returning to the Cairns Convention Centre for their first home game of the season against the Tasmania JackJumpers on Wednesday night.

Bruce believes the quick turnaround is exactly what the group needs.

“We’ve got our work to do and it’s great we’ve got a quick turnaround Wednesday, got the JackJumpers coming in,” he said.

Grab your tickets for Wednesday night's fixture HERE.