Cairns finish pre-season on a high

The Taipans had a comprehensive defeat of the Adelaide 36ers behind closed doors on Thursday night and then backed it up again on Saturday night with a 96-88 win at the Cairns Pop-up Arena. While the visiting team were down three players (Tony Crocker, Isaac Humphries and Sunday Dech) Taipans forward Majok Deng was also rested for the game with foot soreness.

The Taipans used their scrimmages against Melbourne United to get rid of the off-season rust and looked much more comfortable and confident with a couple of games under their belt, leading at every break against the Sixers to go on and win by eight points.

Kouat Noi led the way with the team-high 22 points and continues to reap the rewards from his dedicated off-season in Cairns. Noi couldn’t be stopped, showing aggression on defence and range on offense, shooting at 63 per cent to go with seven rebounds.

Noi managed 12 points in the first five minutes of the game – included three threes, however the home team’s shots weren’t dropping and they wrestled to contain young gun Josh Giddey and Donald Sloan for a one-point difference at the main break.

Cam Oliver struggled offensively initially but managed to completely turn it around after half time, racking up an impressive double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Coach Kelly trialled a number of different combinations with Scott Machado on court for a team-high 30 minutes, as he continues to build for the season proper with an easy 15 points and eight assists.

Nate Jawai was solid for nine points and five boards in 12 minutes off the bench, with Mirko Djeric finding his groove for nine and four too.   

Both teams found themselves in foul trouble heading towards the end of the game, but it was Adelaide that made the most of their free throws.

They were also sparked by two quick threes courtesy of Daniel Johnson at the start of the fourth term, however the Taipans had already found their rhythm.

Machado, Oliver and Krslovic all managed to get the crowd to their feet with some fun three-point bombs as Ngatai, King and Blagojevic chipped in for a 96-88 victory.

The Taipans now look to the season proper, which begins in Cairns on Saturday 16 January against the Sydney Kings. The NBL revised the opening round schedule, which will see the Taipans play twice next weekend.

VERY limited tickets remain to the Cairns Pop-up Arena. Call 4041 3000 or visit Taipans HQ to secure an eight-game package ASAP to avoid disappointment.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 96 (Noi 22, Oliver 21, Machado 15)
ADELAIDE 36ERS 88 (Sloan 24, Johnson 19, Giddey 13)

BOX SCORE