Taipans shrug off smashing

Cairns coach confident heading into NBL semi-final series

BASKETBALL: Across their last two games of the regular season, the Taipans have lost by a combined 52 points.

But the back-to-back defeats have failed to dent their confidence heading to the threegame NBL semi-final series against defending champions Perth Wildcats, starting next week.

Second-year mentor Mike Kelly was not overly concerned by how his squad finished the regular season, preferring instead to focus on how well they played in the middle part of the campaign which finished with them siting in third place on the table.

“The guys feel pretty good right now, as far as the big picture,” Kelly said after Saturday’s 124-88 thrashing by the Brisbane Bullets.

“But, if you look at the guys as they walked into the locker room, they were not happy to get their tails kicked.

“This is a really confident group, I feel great about this team and overall how we are playing.”

Stretch forward Majok Deng, who was Cairns’ best against the Bullets, sang from the same hymn sheet.

“We are trying to get ready for Perth, we are pretty confident we are going to come in and do what we do best,” Deng said.

“It has not shown in our last two games but we have not dropped it or confidence, we are feeling good about ourselves.

“We will work hard over the next two weeks and try and win games.”

Former Adelaide forward Deng carried much of the load against the Bullets, dropping in 20 points while also grabbing seven from the glass.

Meanwhile, Melbourne United have booked their place in the semi-finals with a 109-90 victory over South East Melbourne Phoenix.

United led from start to finish in yesterday’s local derby at Melbourne Arena to record their 15th win of the season, earning fourth spot on percentages ahead of the Bullets and New Zealand Breakers.

United will line up against the league-leading Sydney Kings in the semi-finals.