Snakes bite the Bullets

CAIRNS rained on Brisbane’s parade with a 102-90 victory in Melbourne yesterday to deny the Bullets the NBL Blitz title.

Brisbane were in the box seat to claim the pre-season tournament after convincing wins over Sydney and Adelaide.

The Bullets were four points clear in the standings heading into the final day with teams awarded three points for a win and a point for every quarter won over the four-day event.

However, the previously winless Taipans played the role of spoilers to perfection with a sharpshooting 12-point win over Brisbane at Werribee.

Brisbane led 24-23 at quarter-time but the Snakes rallied in the second quarter and took a 53-46 buffer into halftime.

Cairns went on with the job in the third quarter and opened up a 12-point advantage by the last change.

Melbourne United and Illawarra surged past Brisbane in the standings.