Taipans to take on Bullets in opener

BASKETBALL THE Cairns Taipans will not have to wait long for their grudge match against former skipper Cameron Gliddon, with Mike Kelly’s men to face the Brisbane Bullets in the opening game of the 2018-19 season.

In fixtures released today by the NBL, the Snakes will travel south for an all-Queensland derby to open the first campaign under Kelly on October 13 against the Bullets.

If the heated state rivalry was not enough already, Gliddon facing his old club in his first game at his new team will add the extra spice needed, just as Travis Trice crossing south to Brisbane last season did.

The orange army will need to wait until Round 2 of the new season to watch the newlook Snakes in person, when they host the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday, October 21.

Kelly’s first squad will feature new faces DJ Newbill, Rob Loe, Jarrod Kenny, Lucas Walker and DexterKernich Drew.

The Taipans are pleased to have their first home game of the season on a Sunday afternoon, one of three Sunday afternoon games for the season.

The New Years Eve game in Cairns is retained for a second season, with the Perth Wildcats again travelling north to be the opponent.

The festive season will be a great time to be a hoops fan in Cairns with the Taipans to play five home games between December 16 and January 7.

NBL chief executive Jeremy Loeliger hopes the league can break the all-time attendance record for an opening round of 48,007 set back in 1995.

“With Andrew Bogut returning and a free agency period which saw a number of players move teams, we are confident we will break the record,” Loeliger said. “This is a very exciting time for the NBL and Australian basketball.

“The game is enjoying enormous momentum and we think the NBL is the second best league in the world after the NBA.”

There will again be two breaks between November 26 and December 4 and February 18 and 26 while the Australian Boomers take part in the FIBA World Cup qualifying games.