Taipans fall to Breakers on New Year's Eve

Suiting up for their traditional final game of the calendar year, the Taipans were still missing AK Gak as they faced the Breakers, who were missing Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Dane Pineau.

Winning the tip in front of a sold-out Cairns Convention Centre – playing only his second game at the venue despite his season as a Taipan – Mojave King immediately passed the ball to Taran Armstrong, who failed to convert the steal after Tacko Fall met him at the rim.

Marking the start of a dominant opening quarter for the former NBA player, who provided a quick 10 points in under four minutes of action, with the Breakers utilising him to build an early 12-point lead.

Despite Fall’s imposing 2.5m wingspan, the center was unable to asset his control on the boards with Tanner Groves driving the Taipans’ efforts. Initially only allowing the visitors to lead the rebounding by two boards with minutes left in the opening term, a late injection by Fall quickly turned the tables with the Breaker’s reasserting their control on the glass.

Shooting a perfect 100% to open the game, Groves led Cairns on the offensive end, with the center closing the gap to the visitors to five points before the Breakers reasserted their control on the contest.

Building a 7-0 run before Kyrin Galloway was able to break the drought, New Zealand continued to build their lead with the Taipans forced to burn through both of their timeouts early.

Looking for a spark off the bench as the first half approached its end, the Taipans inserted both Kyle Adnam and Alex Higgins-Titsha into the game – both of whom provided energy instantly.

First with Adnam forcing a back-court violation three seconds after checking in, then with the Cairns forward driving to the basket to draw and and-one, the duo spurred the locals to fight back.

Answering back by using their former Boston Celtic, New Zealand rebuilt their lead to 10 points at the main break whilst both sides prepared for the final half of NBL basketball for 2024.

Led back onto the court by their imports, the Taipans launched a quick barrage of points to go on an 8-2 run – with two triples – with the foul troubled Fall unable to return to action to stop the flow.

Returning serve, the Breakers – led by the former-Taipan trio of Mitch McCarron, Sam Mennenga and King – put the pressure back onto Cairns, as New Zealand steadily rebuilt their margin.

Welcoming Fall back into action, the visitors reasserted their dominance on the contest as the center capitalised on the Taipans’ struggles on the offensive end – entering the final quarter with an 18-point lead.

Changing tactics after their sharp shooting third term, the Breakers drove to the rim – finding success in the strategy to open the quarter strongly.

Continuing to struggle finding the bottom of the basket, the Taipans turned the trio of Sam Waardenburg, Galloway and Groves to attack the rim and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

However, the trio were unable to keep pace with New Zealand, with the visitors slightly extending the gap in a quiet final quarter where both teams struggled to make their looks – with the Breakers celebrating their New Year’s Eve with a win.

Falling short of ending his year with a double double, Tanner Groves led Cairns’ scoring efforts for the second game in a row – putting up 21 points alongside eight rebounds, a dime, steal and a block.

Backing him up was Rob Edwards, who despite hitting only two field goals hit 11 free throws to contribute 16 points – drawing eight fouls on the way. The American also pulled down four rebounds, as well as two assists and two steals.

Also scoring in double digits was Sam Waardenburg, who ended his night with 11 points, four boards, three assists, two steals and a block.

 “We’re obviously disappointed – it was a good turnout, and the fans were fantastic and packed the place out for New Year’s Eve – and we had a great week leading into it, but everything was just a bit of a grind,” explained Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde.

“I’ve said this through different stages of my four years here, but the fan base has always been very loyal and very supportive of the club, and I know the connection between the community and the Taipans goes way back.

“It’s the 150,000 population, and the Taipans is their baby, so it was cool that they turned out in force and stayed until the very end – we owe them a better performance than that.”

“Tacko is the biggest person I’ve ever played against,” said Taipans center Tanner Groves.

“He’s a tough cover, and we tried to do everything we could, but it’s always tough to go up against someone that big.”

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will now face a quick barrage of away games in Illawarra and Sydney before returning to Cairns on Tuesday 14 January. They’ll host the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 6:30pm for the Round 16 clash – tickets available HERE!