SNAKES SNAP LOSING STREAK
THANK you captain.
With the Cairns Taipans down by eight points early in the final term on Saturday night, the 2017-18 campaign would have flashed before the entire organisation’s eyes, with everyone knowing another loss would be the final dagger to the heart.
Import guard DJ Newbill and Shea Ili were rolling for the New Zealand Breakers as they looked to be on the way to a rare weekend NBL homeand-away double.
Enter Snakes skipper Cameron Gliddon, with a little help from replacement import Jerry Evans Jr.
American forward Evans Jr scored five quick points halfway through the fourth term followed by a bomb from outside the arc from Gliddon with just over five minutes to play to put the Snakes ahead.
They did not look back from there.
In fact, they never gave the Breakers another chance as Cairns put on 18 straight points to secure an 81-71 victory and keep their slim finals opportunity alive.
“It was not looking good for a bit, but then it just turned,” Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said after the win that lifted their season record to 10-13.
“Cam made some huge plays, we ended up getting like eight stops in a row and we got some momentum.
“We got on a roll and then pulled away.
“Cam has been here for a long time and takes a lot of pride in his game.
“He wants to lead the group, make plays ... he played to win the game.”
Gliddon’s 10 last-term points gave the Snakes the push they needed to overcome the Kiwis as the West Australian led the charge with 20 points for the game, as well as seven rebounds, while Scoochie Smith and Evans Jr both scored over double figures from the bench.
The men from Cairns still have a mountain to climb to crack the NBL top four, needing to win the last five games of the regular season, but they gave themselves a chance.
The Snakes have just one home game left this season and will need to reverse their poor away form to crack the top four.
Big man Nate Jawai returned to the court in Cairns for the first time in 2018, and was greeted by a raucous reception when he entered the game and when he scored his first bucket.
With Damon Heuir, Smith and Jawai playing extended minutes, the hosts’ bench blew away the Breakers for bench production as the Kiwis relied heavily on their starters.
In one of the highlights of the NBL season, livewire guard Jarrad Weeks performed a spectacular chase-down block on Breaker Jordan Ngatai.
The Snakes travel to Melbourne this week to face United on Wednesday. The Victorians beat Brisbane in the earlier game on Saturday evening.