Taipans inspire orange fever
CAIRNS Convention Centre erupted in a raucous orange celebration last night as the Taipans beat the Wildcats 85-74 to take their NBL semi-final series into a deciding third game. Taipans fans Darren Tonkin, from Westcourt, and Naomi McKinnon, from Cairns, cheer the win.
CAIRNS Taipans fan have been left in little doubt the team has what it takes to make it to this season’s NBL grand final.
The Snakes won 85-74 against the Perth Wildcats at Cairns Convention Centre yesterday. The teams are now one apiece in the semi-final series and a third and deciding game will be played on Thursday night in Perth.
Sheree Gall and Glenn Jones were ecstatic at the result and said they never missed a game with Ms Gall’s boys
Broc and Connor Bertuna. “It’ll be a big boost for Cairns if the Taipans can win the next game in Perth,” Ms Gall said.
“It’ll be good for them to get that fan base support to go into next year. If they can keep the same players, they’ll win. It’ll make people proud to live here.
“They were unfortunate to just miss out on the win on Friday night. I think the game in Perth will be harder but they can do it.”
Mr Jones said he was glad Wildcats firebrand Bryce Cotton missed out on a point in the first half.
Fans for almost 20 years, Darryl and Jenny Martin thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Taipans win.
Mrs Martin said it was a pleasure to see the NBL finals hopefuls play as a team – a trait she said would earn them another win later this week.
Atherton resident Tony Halpin and his family Cathy and David Halpin, from Brisbane, were also at the game.
While Cathy and David have just recently become basketball fans, usually cheering on the Brisbane Bullets, Tony said last night’s event was his first basketball game.
“They were all mad in there,” he said.
David said he grew nervous at the end of the third quarter but enjoyed the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Cairns Convention Centre hospitality staff said they sold more food than at a usual Taipans game and were staying on after the 6pm finish to feed hungry comedy fans who were arriving to see Carl Barron.
MOMENTUM is a dangerous thing in sports and heading back across the Nullarbor this week, the Taipans have all of it in their NBL semi-finals series.
After their heartbreaking overtime loss to the Perth Wildcats on Friday night, Cairns showed no signs of a hangover from that as they ran it down the defending champions throat from the early exchanges.
In one of their more complete performances for the season, the Snakes levelled the series 1-1 with an 85-74 victory and now head back to the West with all the ascendancy.
There were question marks about how Cairns, in their first finals series as a group, would respond from such a devastating loss on Friday night but Mike Kelly’s squad was locked in and focused.
The hosts would extend out to a 20-point advantage in the third stanza but the Wildcats would peg it back to just 10 at the final change.
A Clint Steindl triple would make it seven with four minutes to play but from then on, the hosts did enough to hold off Perth.
It was just one of those nights for the Snakes, tough shots to close out shot clocks fell and the visitors missed a number of lay-ups they would usually complete with their eyes closed.
Cameron Oliver was a beast for the Taipans and made Perth’s Miles Plumlee near-on unplayable at times.
The Snakes’ fans MVP gave it to Plumlee under the bucket and when he stepped outside, made him pay even more.
Oliver was one of the better rebounders in the NBL in the regular season but he has taken it to another level in the finals. The all-NBL second team member had a doubledouble by halftime and would only add to it from there on, finishing with 22 points and 19
MAJESTIC: Cameron Oliver recorded his 15th double-double of the year in another show-stealing performance for the Taipans. “Of course it’s not over for the series. We have to go back to Perth and get it done.
“It’s definitely a home away from home. I love this city.”
The first term was electric for the side in orange, their offence flowed, they gave Perth few opportunities to get into their own sets as they fed from the big crowd.
There was always going to be a sizeable attendance for the first finals game in FNQ in three years but they were engaged from the opening tip and were loud throughout.
Scott Machado’s second long bomb in as many minutes would make Cairns’ lead as much as 15 midway through the second quarter.
After he put on an all-time show on Friday night, league MVP Bryce Cotton was well held in Game 2, not scoring in the first half and just generally lacking his usual influence.
Turnovers have been an issue of late for the Snakes but they held on to the ball on Sunday.
The semi-final series now heads towards a third and deciding game on Thursday night in Perth.