Round 13: Taipans v Sixers

CQUNIVERSITY CAIRNS TAIPANS V ADELAIDE 36ERS
(Cairns Convention Centre, 7:00pm)
Watch live on ESPN via Kayo Sports or Foxtel
Next home game: Sunday 8 January, 3:00pm TICKETS

LAST MEETING

The Taipans visited the 36ers earlier this month and controlled virtually the entire game before a frantic finish saw them lose by three points. Cairns dominated all three quarters, leading by as much as 19 in the second, but the home team ultimately outhustled them on the boards to wrestle their way to the win.

LINE-UP

The Taipans have taken a big blow, with star forward Keanu Pinder (ankle) being ruled out for Cairns' biggest game of the year. He will be assessed over the weekend to see if he can return to the line-up on Monday night in Illawarra. 

Adelaide are at full strength and bolstered by their new addition, import Ian Clarke who made his debut on Thursday.

LOOK FOR

The Taipans to tip their NYE record in the favour. In the club’s history, they have played a total of 16 games on the last day of the year, with a record of exactly eight wins and eight losses.

The last time Cairns hosted Adelaide for NYE was back in 2014, where the visitors got the 84-77 victory in overtime.

LATEST WORDS

“They outworked us. For something that we pride ourselves on – they did a better job of it. For the most part, we did a good job of the scout and particular match-ups, and then Hyrum Harris gets some o-boards off the bench and Cleveland gets a bunch of offensive rebounds and they generate some second-chance points for themselves and we blew a 19-point lead. It’s not as if Adelaide did anything outside of themselves, they just worked harder than us,” – Adam Forde

“It’s obviously my first year in this league, but every game is a tough game. Whether it’s the first-placed team, or the last-placed team, every team has guys that can win the game at any moment. I think [the New Year’s Eve game] is great for our team, our players and our city. Having everybody come out and support us, will be a great feeling and hopefully the crowd will help us get a win out there,” – Shannon Scott