Taipans Chase Momentum on the Road in Wildcats-Bullets Double

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans hit the road for this weekend’s Round 20 double-header against the Wildcats and the Bullets.

The Taipans head west to face Perth on Friday night (8:30pm AEST), before backing up against bitter rivals Brisbane less than 48 hours later for their final Queensland clash of the season on Sunday afternoon (3:30pm AEST).

Following a strong week on the floor, Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde said he was encouraged by a number of career-high performances last weekend.

“The last couple of games have been pretty good with some strong individual performances from Kyrin Galloway, Mojave King, Kody Stattmann, Lachlan Barker and everybody across the board,” Forde said.

“We want to make sure we’ve got all of the guys firing to get over a tough Perth team.”

Cairns-born and bred scorer Stattmann notched a career-best 18 points in his game-closing heroics in Friday night’s overtime victory over the JackJumpers.

Gritty guard Lachlan Barker racked up a career-high 18 points and three assists against the Kings on Sunday.

Shot blocker Kyrin Galloway praised the duo for stepping up when it mattered.

“Kody and Lachie are great players,” Galloway said.

“It was great to see them have a great game. Hopefully it builds some confidence in them finishing off the season strong, building their resume a little bit and going into next season.

“Playing anybody in this league is a challenge, anything can happen in any given game. Everybody comes out with 100 per cent effort, so we’re definitely not expecting any drop-off from them.”

Explosive guard Mojave King will play his 50th game for the side, coming off a career-high nine rebounds to go with 17 points against the Kings.

The travelling Taipans will face an in-form Wildcats outfit led by punishing centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and dynamic forward Kristian Doolittle.

Perth are currently without point guards David Duke Jr (elbow) and Jaron Rillie (hamstring).

The playmaking responsibilities have been shared in their absence, with Ben Henshall alongside Doolittle and Elijah Pepper, all chipping in to help fill the void.

The fifth-placed Wildcats head into the clash 7-1 since Henshall moved into the starting lineup as the primary playmaker in Round 15.

“The Wildcats are tough,” Forde said. 

“They’re fighting for the top six. This time of year, wins and points percentage are important for them. They’re not going to take us lightly. They’re trying to build momentum heading into the post-season.”

‍The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans return home for their final game at the Cairns Convention Centre, taking on Melbourne United on Thursday, February 12 at 6:30pm. Grab your tickets HERE