All set to Blitz rivals, again
THEY have been the standout preseason team over the last three years but Taipans coach Aaron Fearne understands it counts for little when the real stuff rolls around.
The Snakes open their NBL Blitz campaign tonight against the New Zealand Breakers in the Victorian town of Traralgon, 163km east of Melbourne.
The changing tournament name – it was the NBL Blitz before it became the Australian Basketball Challenge and is now back to the Blitz – has not stopped the Taipans dominating it.
Cairns enjoyed a perfect record at the 2016 edition, their third straight undefeated effort at the league-wide preseason event, as skipper Cameron Gliddon claimed the Ray Borner Medal for MVP.
Fearne, in his ninth campaign as Snakes mentor, would love to win every game again this week but knows planning for Round 1 against Illawarra on October 6 is the main event.
“We just try and be disciplined, organised and play really hard,” Fearne said. “We take the preseason pretty seriously, we try and establish our culture.
“The wins do not mean much. You know it is preseason. You want to win but at the end of the day, when you get to the end of the season, no one is going to remember who won in the preseason.”
First-year Snake Kuany Kuany has overcome his injury concerns and is set to be injected into the squad tonight. Nate Jawai and Scoochie Smith will not feature at the Blitz but travelled with the team.
Regular Breakers Mika Vukona, Brisbane Bullets v Adelaide 36ers, 2pm Melbourne United v Sydney Kings, 5pm Perth Wildcats v New Zealand Breakers, 7.30pm Sunday (All games 2pm) Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats Sydney Kings v Illawarra Hawks Cairns Taipans v Brisbane Bullets NZ Breakers v Adelaide 36ers Tom Abercrombie, Alex Pledger and Rob Loe will again lead the Kiwis tonight as they look to integrate new imports Edgar Sosa and DJ Newbill.
Fearne said there was time spent this week on his squad having a positive attitude towards the referees after those with the whistle were hot on back chat and fouls in Rockhampton against Brisbane.
He also delivered a clip behind the ear to the league for scheduling the Taipans to play Brisbane again on Sunday, just days after they played a twogame series against the Bullets in Rockhampton.