FEELING SNAKY
Rivalry renewed as Taipans meet the Bullets in tonight’s ‘Sunshine Stoush’:
RIVALRY games are nothing new for Taipans co-captain DJ Newbill and Bullets’ sharpshooter Lamar Patterson.
Newbill said he was looking forward to reigniting a competitive fire with Patterson, which dated back to their college years.
“We both played for Pennsylvania schools,” Newbill said.
“I think we played against them when we were in junior college.
“He was at Pitt and I was at Penn State and that was an old-school rivalry they were trying to bring back up. It’s just about creating extra hype for the fans. It’s just fun being part of those types of games.”
Patterson said rivalry games back home in the US had a tendency to get “a little crazy”. He remembers taking on arch rivals West Virginia while attending Pitt.
“Every time we went there it was like coins and quarters and lighters and everything being thrown on the court,” he said.
“They get wild. Thankfully it’s definitely not as hostile here. I know for fans it means a bit more, with both teams from Queensland, but we just want to go out there and play and try to get the win.”
It may not have any finals implications, being in week seven of the competition, but tonight’s clash between the Cairns Taipans and Brisbane Bullets still has relevance.
The state rivals will not only be battling for competition points, but pride, bragging rights and the illustrious title of Queensland’s best basketball team. It will be the first rivalry game officially played under the Sunshine Stoush banner, which the NBL has formally adopted, but Taipans coach Mike Kelly said the name wouldn’t change how his team entered the clash.
“These guys got us down there before so I don’t know we need the NBL to do anything for us to be fired up to play this week,” he said of the Sunshine Stoush branding.
“We’ll come in ready for a good one against Brisbane.”
Kelly said the second round loss to the Bullets came down to how his players handled extra pressure, an area the side has worked hard to improve in recent weeks.
Cairns led by four points at halftime despite the late, unexpected scratching of co-captain DJ Newbill, but were steamrolled when the Bullets took control in the third quarter. They restricted the Taipans to just 25 second-half points to win 90-74.
“We really could’ve done some things better in that first half and had a better lead and then we just didn’t handle their pressure,” Kelly said.
“They upped the pressure in the third quarter and that allowed them to take control of the game during that time. It was that one quarter.
“It’s us dealing with pressure, which we’ve been better at, offensively, and we need to continue to get better at that. We know that they’ll come in with that attacking mindset and we’re working to combat that.”
Brisbane shooting guard and former Taipans captain Cameron Gliddon said Cairns was always a tough place to get the win, and it would only be tougher in the first official Sunshine Stoush.
He said it would make a victory over their Queensland counterparts even sweeter.
“You want to beat every team, but the one in your home state, sharing the same state with you, you definitely want to get it over them,” he said.
“They beat us more than we beat them last year but we finished higher on the ladder than they did.
“It’s always good to be the best team in your state so we’re going to continue to fight to be that team.
“We played them already this year and got it done, so I’m sure they’re wanting to get back on an even playing field with us at their place.”
He said the Bullets were feeling confident ahead of tonight’s match, despite coming off a 95-85 loss to Sydney.