Time to Cotton on as Wildcats lead way again
THE two-time defending champion Perth sounded a warning to the rest of the competition as the opening round of the 2017-18 NBL season got underway.
Nail-biting victories to Melbourne United and Cairns Taipans hint towards another hotly contested season but Saturday night’s 96-86 win over the Brisbane Bullets indicates that the road to the championship will again run through Perth.
In front of an NBL record opening round crowd of 13,403 fans at Perth Arena, 2017 grand final MVP Bryce Cotton picked up where he left off last season, hitting 17 of his gamehigh 24 points in a dynamic first-half display.
Perth mainstay Jesse Wagstaff tallied 18 points, while import forward Jean-Pierre Tokoto impressed on debut with 16 points.
Clearly a prolific scorer, Cotton also received praise from Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson for his unselfishness and ability to create opportunities for his teammates.
“He (Bryce) got going in the first and second quarter and started to feel his shot,” Gleeson said. “Then they doubleteam him and he makes the pass.
“He doesn’t force that, he lets the game come to him and he’s got a savvy head on him out on the floor.”
Former Taipans import Travis Trice led the way for the Bullets with 23 points.
The Cairns Taipans carved out their own slice of history by winning their opening home game for the 17th consecutive year, thanks to a dramatic 88-87 victory over the Illawarra Hawks on Friday night.
The Taipans survived a hot night from Hawks guard Rotnei Clark (23 points, seven three-pointers) and the loss of Nathan Jawai to injury in the second quarter to win 88-87 thanks to veteran Alex Loughton’s 19 points, including the game-winning free throw in the final second.
“To have 17 home openers in a row ... it’s special,” Taipans coach Aaron Fearne said.
There was plenty of drama in the build-up to Thursday night’s season opener in Adelaide, with the bizarre sacking of 36ers import Ronald Roberts, followed by Melbourne United star Chris Goulding being struck down with appendicitis.
Goulding missed the 36ers match and will not take part in Melbourne’s exhibition game against the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the US.
United erased a 13-point second-quarter deficit to escape Adelaide with the 99-97 win. The Sixers bounced back by securing a 105-96 win on the road against Sydney.