Taipans v Wildcats

CQUniversity Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats
(RAC Arena, 8:30pm AEST)
Watch LIVE on ESPN and watch together at the Reef Hotel Casino

LAST TIME THEY MET

The Taipans hosted the Wildcats for their first home game of the season, and after two impressive road wins, they couldn’t quite make it three in a row. The Wildcats took care of business at the Cairns Convention Centre, registering their highest score since 2008 with the 105-78 victory.

Their next match-up was just before Christmas, and the ‘Cats made their streak 10-0 over the Taipans with another double-digit victory 105-83, despite 24 points from DJ Hogg.

Tonight is the Taipans’ first game of the season at RAC Arena, and while the Wildcats are desperate to lock in a play-in spot, the Taipans need this win for a chance at the second spot – which will also require the Breakers to lose to the Bullets by some margin tomorrow.

LINE-UP

Cairns enter the Jungle depleted, with superstar Keanu Pinder (eye) not expected to return until after the FIBA break. Guard Mirko Djeric has been ruled out due to illness and is expected back for the team’s next fixtures. Tahjere McCall is a game-time decision for Cairns. 

Perth also have Tai Webster listed as a game-time decision.

LOOK FOR

Waardenburg watch. There’s a lot of weight on the rookie’s shoulders, with Keanu Pinder out. Despite a loss on Monday night against Adelaide, the 23-year old had a career-high 26 points, plus three rebounds and three assists.  

Throughout the season, consensus was Sam Waardenburg was a shoo-in for NBL’s Rookie of the Year award, but the recent change has seen more players eligible under the new “Next Generation” dong. Waardenburg faces another Next Gen nominee tonight in Luke Travers.  

LATEST WORDS

“In terms of the results, [against Perth] is the only two, where we’ve had our butts handed to us. Everything else has been relatively close. Like tonight [against Adelaide] coming down to the last few possessions. We’ve won close ones; we’ve lost close ones. We’ve had a couple of nice big wins. But the two Perth results are the ones that really blew it out to double digits, quite easily. It’s a good test going into the post-season, because they’re going to be hungry to secure a good position on the ladder,” – Head Coach Adam Forde

“Obviously you want to go to the playoffs with high momentum. We want to play each game the same way, though. You can’t think about what our position is going to be on the ladder, we’ve got to play each game as though it’s our last game. As long as we do that, we’re going to be fine,” – Shannon Scott