Snakes Strike in Homecoming

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans have started their season in Far North Queensland in style, taking down the Adelaide 36ers 101-97 on Saturday night whilst on their way to their highest ever score at a home opener since 2006.

The Taipans' homecoming was missing key pieces, with Taran Armstrong and Jackson Makoi restricted to the sideline, alongside the late addition of Dillon Stith after he picked up an injury at training.

Also bruised was Tanner Groves, however he made his arrival at the Cairns Convention Centre known to all – starting the night with an emphatic block before quickly moving to hype up courtside fans.

After the Snakes denied multiple attempts from Adelaide to put points on the scoreboard, Sam Waardenburg kick started the night – initially with a three, before putting up the first six points of the Taipans’ night.

Starting their night very strong defensively, the Taipans were able to build up an early lead, led by Rod Edwards.

Rebounding from his Round 1 performance by hitting his first two three-point attempts, the Taipans hit their shots - only hitting one more two-point attempt than three-pointers in the opening term.

After starting from the bench, Montrezl Harrell was quickly checked into the game by the 36ers to stop the flow of points – a move that worked with Adelaide taking control immediately.

The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year was swift to make his mark on the game – unleashing multiple dunks at one end while making it difficult for the Taipans to find their footing at the other.

Once Harrell was rested by Adelaide, the Taipans were quick to pounce, immediately unleashing a series of shots from behind the arc to reduce what was a 12-point 36ers lead.

Going on an 18-7 run without the 36ers’ center on the court, it looked like Adelaide would barely take the lead into the main break – until Edwards hit his mark from behind the arc, followed by a sneaky steal and buzzer beater from Jonah Antonio.

Entering the second half with a narrow four-point lead, both teams struggled to keep their scores ticking over – only scoring 13 points combined over the first five minutes of the third quarter.

After both teams struggled to generate traction after a high scoring first half, the Taipans looked to flick it up a gear as they entered the final term.

Kyrin Galloway kicked off the fireworks, catapulting the Snakes onto a 17-2 run against his former team – 10 points of which were attributed to him.

While Galloway rocked the rim at one end, his teammates locked down on the defensive end – holding off a late charge by the 36ers as they desperately clawed their way back into the game.

“I’m most proud of Galloway, not because he had 12 points and shot the ball well – which we all know he does – but he rotated a lot, blocked shots, and every single huddle when we were calling sets he was locked in,” Taipans guard Kyle Adnam explained.

“He was like: ‘I’m going here, I’m doing this’. It’s such a subtle thing, but it shows to me how important that game was to him.”

At the head of the Snakes was Rob Edwards, showing what he was capable of with 31-points – the highest score by a Taipan in their opening game at the Convention Centre - with four assists and one steal.

Playing an impressive 37-minutes himself, Sam Waardenburg helped set the tone for the Taipans with 21-points, 11 boards, four assists and three blocks to his name.

“I really want to give credit to the boys, because we had a great week in the film room and on court and understanding that when the momentum and the energy went against us last week, we sort of just left the bottom fall out,” said Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde.

“And so when we felt that we made some errors we addressed it, and they were able to bring it back in their favour.”

The Taipans will return to their home court at 7:30pm on Friday night to host the reigning champions, the Tasmania JackJumpers. Be in the building and get tickets HERE.