Category: Cairns Taipans

Melbourne suffers costly defeat from Cairns

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au : All season the Cairns Taipans threatened to take a big scalp and in the final round they did the job taking down Melbourne United at Melbourne Arena on Thursday night. The Taipans came in with only five wins but they held their nerve and rode their talents to a spirited 87-85 win and potentially reshaped the upcoming finals series. Melbourne staged a dramatic late comeback from 82-74 down with five minutes to play gaining the ball with 18 seconds left and a chance to take the lead.…

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Liam Santamaria’s Week 17 Studs and Duds

Brandon King

Written for nbl.com.au by Liam Santamaria Bryce Cotton is a gift from the Basketball Gods and Damian Martin is the hero we all deserve. STUDS Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats) What Bryce Cotton did across the final 16 minutes yesterday was one hundred percent pure basketball brilliance. As Perth’s clash with Sydney approached three-quarter time, and with the Wildcats trailing by 8, Cotton was 0-for-10 and had not scored a single point for the afternoon. That’s before a backcourt steal by Clint Steindl gifted him a rare open look, sparking a…

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Cairns defeats Brisbane in Loughton’s last game

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au : Their season may have gone down in flames early, but the Cairns Taipans have ensured captain Alex Loughton’s name goes down in glory with an emotion-charged win over the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday. Love was all around the building with 5,006 Orange Army faithful turning up to pay appreciation to the club stalwart, as his late and-one could have destroyed their Sunshine State rivals’ chances at making the playoffs. It was done in the grind-it-out method so common to Loughton and his Snakes of the past decade,…

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Cairns defeats New Zealand in OT 106-98

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: FAST FACTS • Cairns have hosted consecutive home games with overtime for the first time in their history • The Taipans came from 12 points down to win – the first time they have won from more than four points behind this season • It was Taipans first overtime win since December 2015 after five consecutive losses • Melo Trimble had 32 points, five rebounds and five assists. First Taipan ever to have 32/5/5 twice in the same season • Jarrad Weeks scored 17 points for the Bre…

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Why NBA people whose thoughts, actions and decisions mean something are looking at the NBL

Brandon King

This is an interesting read from Liam Santamaria on how more NBA team eyes are starting to focus on the NBL. Written for nbl.com.au by Liam Santamaria The NBL’s reputation as a breeding ground for NBA talent continues to grow, with more NBA coaches, agents, analysts and scouts than ever viewing the league as a legitimate development pathway. It’s a reputation that has skyrocketed over recent years thanks to a combination of factors, including the increased visibility of the league, the NBLxNBA initiative and the success of young players developing…

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Adelaide 36ers ink Shaun Bruce as injury replacement

Brandon King

In light of the calf injury that will cost Ramone Moore the rest of the season, the Adelaide 36ers have signed Shaun Bruce on a short-term deal. This will Bruce’s second go-round with Cairns; he made his NBL debut with the club in 2013. He would sign a two-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets in 2016. In 2018 Bruce signed with the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand NBL. Bruce’s older brother Aaron debuted with Adelaide in 2008-09 and had a second stint as a injury replacement player in 2009-10.…

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