OBSERVATIONS FROM THE TAIPANS’ HEARTBREAKING OVERTIME LOSS TO PERTH ON FRIDAY NIGHT

THE VETERAN FORWARD WAS HUGE

Jesse Wagstaff will turn 34 very soon but his increasing age has not stopped his influence on the contest.

Championship winning coach Trevor Gleeson went small for much of the third term, which changed the contest the way of the hosts as the Taipans looked to be in control of the game before that.

In front of their home fans, the Wildcats found their touch from deep as veteran stretch forward Wagstaff was instrumental on both ends of the court, hitting a couple of threes as well as making key defensive plays. Perth dragged the Snakes’ advantage back to just three at the final change following that run of play.

TURNOVERS KILL TAIPANS AGAIN

When you shoot 60% from the field and 55% from deep – you win most games of basketball. But, as has been the case at stages so far this season, Cairns just give the ball back far too often.

Those turnovers were again a problem for the Taipans, handing it over four times inside the first 10 minutes, while the Wildcats did not turn the ball over once in comparison.

As they were in Round 20, a large number of turnovers again hurt Cairns, handing the ball back on 17 occasions on Friday night. Taipans coach Mike Kelly said post-game that his side’s 17 turnovers was way too many.

TAIPANS IMPORTS FIRE Cairns would have been in big trouble if not for their three Americans. All three were excellent when it mattered most.

THE SNAKES WERE HOT

In total, Cairns hit 17 of their first 26 shots from the field, which led to outscoring the Wildcats by 13 points for much of the second quarter.

A 34-16 blitz from Cairns in the second stanza had the visitors ahead by nine points at the long break.

After the five periods of basketball, the Snakes landed 15 threes from 27 attempts, as well as connecting on 39 field goals from 64 shots.

If they shoot the ball that well in Game 2 and 3 – they should be winning.

PLUMLEE NO X-FACTOR

The former NBA big man was billed as Perth’s big impact player but he had little influence on the contest.

The Snakes had not faced a Wildcats team with Plumlee in it before Friday night and that mattered for little as the imposing centre was barely a factor.

He only played 18 minutes and was minus nine, as well as copping a couple of big dunks in his face.

On the flip side, Cairns’ import forward Cameron Oliver was on target from range early on, draining two from deep and strutted back down the court on both occasions.

Oliver finished with a game high 17 rebounds as he controlled the boards, with Plumlee watching on from the sidelines.

THEY TRUST FAB

Mike Kelly and his coaching staff must really like what they get from young forward Fabijan Krslovic as he played in front of Majok Deng and Kouat Noi in crunch time.

Their decision worked out as Krslovic landed two key triples and was generally solid on the other end of the floor.

Krslovic is not exactly a flashy player but he does his job, is solid and you can count on what he is going to provide.