Snakes keen on firing up

No shooting restraints against 36ers

TAIPANS coaches have given their shooters permission to rain fire as they prepare for their first clash with the 36ers in Adelaide on Friday night.

Far North Queensland’s national sporting team is third on the NBL ladder after a remarkable, come-from-behind overtime win against the Kings on Monday night.

The shots didn’t drop for many Snakes through the middle portion of the 94-88 win, as Cairns finished with a 36 per cent hit rate from the field – and just 20 per cent from three.

But that lack of success hasn’t scared off the Snakes’ brass, with assistant coach Sam Gruggen backing his troops to fire. “It’s continue to shoot the ball,” he said.

“We’ve recruited a team which can shoot the ball, and we’re very confident that they can shoot the ball whether it’s the first quarter or last quarter.

“We hang our hat on defence, but we know when the shots start hitting we’ll be tough to stop.”

On Friday, the Taipans face a 36ers outfit which has overcome a slow start to be sixth with a 5-5 record.

Robert Franks, Antonius Cleveland and former Taipan Mitch McCarron lead the way for the 36ers, and shutting down that talented trio will be key to the Taipans’ success.

“They’re a talented line-up,” Gruggen said.

“Franks is fantastic shooter from the perimeter, Cleveland getting downhill, McCarron – they have a very deep team.

“Heavily based on how we can guard them one-on-one and stop their easy points.

“We just need to play our style of game.”

The mood at Taipans HQ is as buoyant as it is among the fan base, but Cairns coaches are doing what they can to ensure the players remain focused on the end goal.

It’s markedly different to head coach Adam Forde and Gruggen’s first season in charge, during which Cairns limped to ninth.

But with a roster built from the ground-up by Forde, and a 7-4 record under the belt, it’s a good feeling among the Taipans’ team.

“Winning helps, the mood is definitely different,” Gruggen said. “We’ve done different things leading into practice, and what we do off the court and on the court, the chemistry we brought in.

“These guys want to play, they want to play hard, and they want to prove a point to the league.

“We try to keep everyone level-headed. We try to outwork every day, we try to hustle every day. The day-to-day is the same for us.”