Pinder proves worth

TAIPAN IN MVP MIX

THE way Keanu Pinder exploded in the final quarter of the Taipans’ win against the Bullets is exactly why he is in the mix for the NBL’s Most Valuable Player.

Pinder has been a revelation since joining the Taipans before last season.

Head-hunted by coach Adam Forde, with whom he shares history in rep programs in Western Australia, Pinder has gone from a player who barely got court time at the 36ers to becoming an integral part of the Cairns line-up.

Pinder leads the league in rebounds (9.8) and is scoring 18 points per game (6th in the NBL), and has been a key piece of Cairns’ 6-3 start to the campaign.

In a video posted on social media last week, NBL commentator and former MVP (2010) Corey “Homicide” Williams said Pinder was in the top two for the league’s most prestigious award.

“You talk about improvement, how can you not be impressed with how he’s grown?” Williams said.

And on Saturday, he showed exactly why he deserves to be in the conversation.

With Cairns up by eight points leading into the final term, Pinder exploded into action, dropping 15 points to put the result beyond doubt.

The most pleasing aspect of that run, Forde revealed, was that the team didn’t run offence directly for the Derby product.

“When you talk about real good players in the league, it’s the fact you need to get points,” Forde said.

“He’s not a point guard, he’s not ball-dominant or dribbling the air out of the ball, we didn’t run sets for him, because we had a focus at practice for Keanu to get everyone else open.”

Pinder is one of the first names listed each game, and his performances over the past season and a half has earned him the adulation of the Far North faithful.

Forde always believed Pinder could be an Australian Boomers representative – he said as much on countless occasions last season as Pinder put together a campaign which won him the NBL’s Most Improved Player Award.

That Boomers dream became a reality this year when he was part of the Australian side who, under master coach Brian Goorjian, won the FIBA Asia Cup.

Pinder will be relied upon heavily as the Taipans prepare for their first home double header of the season: a blockbuster schedule which features the top two teams in the league.

On Friday, the Taipans will face second-placed NZ Breakers, who overcame the 36ers to improve to 8-3 for the season.

Then on Monday, they host the league-leading Sydney Kings (8-2), who narrowly escaped an Illawarra upset when former Taipan Shaun Bruce drilled a controversial last-gasp three.

It was from nearly the same spot another former Snake, Kouat Noi, broke Taipans hearts three weeks ago.