Ring in 2021 with the Taipans

It has been the longest off-season in the NBL’s 43-year history and CQUniversity Cairns Taipans lead assistant coach Jamie O’Loughlin has said that there will be no better way to ring in 2021 than with the team’s first pre-season game on New Year’s Eve at the Cairns Pop-up Arena.

Tickets to the Taipans’ pre-season games against Melbourne and Adelaide are on sale today, with two opportunities to get an early look at the team before the season proper. For the club, it’s been a long-time coming and while the blockbuster fixture is only a practice game, it will continue the tradition of a family-friendly NYE in Cairns.

“It’s usually a game we enjoy in the middle of the season, so there’s a slightly different feel this year as a pre-season game. But it’s always a fun night and the club has worked really hard to make sure that we saved this fixture and that families in Cairns have a memorable night out – they come to our game and then have plenty of time to get to the Esplanade and watch the fireworks,” he said.

“The guys have been building up to this for a few weeks now. They love to play so they’re pretty excited and looking forward to getting back on court. The quality of both Melbourne and Adelaide will be a great test – both sides have flat out superstars.”

Melbourne United have stacked their roster during the off-season, with the recent signing of Australian Boomer Jock Landale and Scotty Hopson from the Breakers. They join their already impressive local line-up including Chris Goulding, David Barlow and former Taipan Mitch McCarron.

Adelaide will have a new-look team with imports Tony Crocker and Donald Sloan, and additions in Isaac Humphries, Sunday Dech and Keanu Pinder. The Sixers also boast their own NBL Next Star, and all eyes will be on Josh Giddey and Taipan Mojave King when they hit the court for an exciting preview of these two NBA-bound prospects.

Coach O’Loughlin said that while the Taipans might look similar, there have still been modifications to the roster that will take time to adjust to. He expects their pre-season performance and approach to remain at a high level, but it will also be an opportunity to adapt to the changes in the team and get back on court together for the first time in almost ten months.

“We have high expectations of our performance but obviously New Year’s Eve will be the first time we play together as this team. Even though we are very close to last year’s team, there have been some changes, and that will be our first experience together. That always presents its own challenges,” he said.

“These guys have a lot of pride in their performance, so for them, it makes no difference whether it’s a practice game or a real game in terms of how they approach it.”

Don’t miss out on securing the hottest tickets in town with the Taipans host United on New Year’s Eve at the Cairns Pop-up Arena! Tip-off 6:00pm (game will run approximately two hours) with the NYE fireworks commencing from 8:30pm. Special “pre-season package” features a discount across both games! Click HERE to claim two-game discount. 

PRE-SEASON GAMES SCHEDULE

Thursday 31st December v Melbourne United
Cairns Pop-up Arena, 6:00pm
Purchase TICKETS

Saturday 9 January v Adelaide 36ers
Cairns Pop-up Arena, 6:00pm
Purchase TICKETS