Snakes fall to JackJumpers to open home double

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans started strongly but couldn’t quite keep it going against the Tasmania JackJumpers at Cairns Convention Centre on Friday night, turning their attention now to the Sydney Kings on Sunday.

The Snakes shot out of the gates impressively in front of the Orange Army leading 7-2 early and then still 14-8. They were still in front by quarter-time as well, but didn’t quite last and the JackJumpers ended up leaving Far North Queensland with the 85-69 victory.

Stephen Zimmerman was the only Taipans player to score in double-figures with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists but again on 9/12 shooting, his advantages weren’t fully utilised.

There were some positive signs late in the game too with Robbie Heath getting onto the floor and making the most of his five minutes with four points and an assist. Marshall Nelson also scored four points and two rebounds.

Majok Deng finished with nine points, Bul Kuol eight points and five rebounds, Kouat Noi eight points, Scott Machado seven points and five assists, Jordan Ngatai five points, Jarrod Kenny three points and four assists, and Keanu Pinder two points and four rebounds.

Taipans coach Adam Forde only had one way to sum up his team's performance – embarrassing.

"It's embarrassing. After everything we rolled out today especially with the Bamaga footage and our Indigenous Round jerseys, that was embarrassing," Forde said.

"I take a huge part of the responsibility for that and I feel embarrassed for the support that was again outstanding by the Cairns community. You could feel it too when we sent the young fellas out with five minutes to go and they just went out and played hard, and played for minutes and the crowd appreciated that. 

"All I could think about was maybe we could play them earlier, I don’t know. We go through these stages and the interesting part is we respond when we call each other out and I've made multiple reference of it already. 

"I've used up all my ammo with that and it's draining for me to come in every week and point out who did this and what needs to change. We have a short-term response and then we put our feet up and forget how to play basketball."

Josh Adams top-scored for Tasmania with 20 points but he had plenty of help including Fabijan Krslovic enjoying his return to Far North Queensland with 13 points including going 3/4 from downtown.

The Taipans went inside early to get Stephen Zimmerman going for the game's first score before Kouat Noi gave the home team the 4-0 start. That became 7-2 with a triple from Bul Kuol, but the JackJumpers responded after a timeout from Scott Roth.

They tied scores up when Josh Adams hit from downtown but it was Zimmerman giving them problems, and he scored five quick points for Cairns to see them lead 14-9.

The Snakes were still up 19-15 by the end of one but both teams went dead cold to start the second quarter. The only points in almost four minutes came at the free-throw for the JackJumpers.

Eventually Matt Kenyon hit a three for the first field goal of the quarter and immediately Noi responded in kind up the other end. 

It was the JackJumpers that built on that and they would hit five more three-pointers to close out the half including one from Josh Adams on the buzzer to give them the 39-28 half-time lead having held the Snakes to just nine points the entire second period.

While Cairns scored first in the second half through Machado, the JackJumpers pulled right away with triples to Fabijan Krslovic and Adams. Josh Magette hit his first triple of the night soon after and suddenly it was a 20-point ball game.

Cairns tried to work back into the contest and had got back to within 14 by three quarter-time. While the Snakes made a brief flurry with triples to Kuol and Jarrod Kenny, there were never real signs of a comeback.

Krslovic hit his third triple of the game on his old home floor before Adams and Steindl also added three balls for the JackJumpers to romp to the 16-point win.

The Taipans remain at Cairns Convention Centre this Sunday to host the Sydney Kings in a rematch from last Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 15

CQUNIVERSITY CAIRNS TAIPANS 69 (Zimmerman 19, Deng 9, Noi 8, Kuol 8)

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 85 (Adams 20, Krslovic 13, McVeigh 13) 

BOX SCORE