McCall Leads Bloodthirsty Taipans to Statement Win

The Cairns Taipans continue to defy expectations. Despite the absence of Scott Machado, they registered their ninth win in-a-row at Cairns Convention Centre with a punctuation-mark 93-67 win over the Adelaide 36ers. 

Tahjere McCall has only played a handful of games for the Snakes, but has spoken at length about his love for Far North Queensland. With performances like this, you can bet the feeling is mutual. 

McCall put his best foot forward early as he continued to pick up the slack of the absence of their superstar point guard.

Having arrived in Cairns a renowned defensive specialist, McCall is now being asked to be a scorer, the main playmaker and the leader of the Snakes. His impact on the 26-point win where the Snakes led by as much as 40 is only somewhat shown with his 13 points, nine assists, five steals and five rebounds.

He had plenty of help with the Taipans backing up a win over the Tasmania JackJumpers with another at their redeveloped home floor. They have now won nine straight at the Cairns Convention Centre having struggled last season while it was being redeveloped.

Majok Deng and Keanu Pinder especially enjoyed themselves against a hapless Adelaide outfit where they used to ply their trade. Deng went 5/7 from deep for 23 points while Pinder put up 15 points and five rebounds.

Stephen Zimmerman had a night to remember too with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and even hit a fourth quarter three-pointer with rookie Bul Kuol starting and delivering eight points, four assists and two steals.

Cairns coach Adam Forde remains undefeated in charge of the Taipans at the Convention Centre, and he felt the group feeling more comfortable was a big factor in the performance.

"Obviously it was one of those weeks where I felt most comfortable in the training floor. I felt most comfortable than I had in a long time going into this game knowing that there was a level of focus. Even with the players out, I knew we were zoned in," Forde said.

"Our identity and collective is trying not to make sure it is one or two individuals that get it done. 
The season is going to be won and lost on how our whole team plays. The collective. 

"The consistent with us is what we can control and we find that is on the defensive end. The job was done defensively and we tried to reward ourselves on the offensive end. No one played outside themselves. They played to their potential. Everyone stepped up. "

It was a horror night for the 36ers and rookie coach CJ Bruton. They were coming off two wins and headed north full of confidence, but they now return to Adelaide with their tail firmly between their legs.

The Sixers coughed up 18 turnovers from which the Taipans scored 19 points with Adelaide shooting just 41 per cent from the floor and 4/18 at 22 per cent from three.

Dusty Hannahs again top-scored with 20 points on 8/11 shooting with Daniel Johnson adding 12 points and Isaac Humphries 12 points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocks. 

Adelaide coach CJ Bruton was left scratching his head somewhat afterwards but will get back to work for the group with a 10-day gap until playing at home to the Wildcats after Christmas.

"We didn’t come out with the intensity that it takes to be successful in the NBL," Bruton said.

"We didn’t play with the physicality that they did. As the game went on, we threw the ball away. We turned the ball over. After the first five minutes it unravelled. 

"Credit to them. They were playing at home and did a good job and they executed. They stepped up and made plays. 

"We need to freshen up but we also need to make sure we do the little things away from each other because it is such a big gap. We’ve got a job to do."

With the offence humming, the Taipans raced to a season-best 31-point first quarter (31-20). 

What would have been especially pleasing to the Taipans’ head coach Adam Forde was that his charges only registered a single turnover in this period, despite leading the league with an average of 20.5. 

The Taipans didn’t let their feet off the pedal and went into the main break with a 21-point lead (54-33). From there, they ran away with it. 

Cairns' system allowed players like the Sudanese-born rookie Bul Kuol to prosper, whose efforts earnt an applause from the appreciative crowd in the third quarter. 

The 28-year-old Majok Deng played one of his best games for the Taipans, with the highlight being his laser-like shooting from beyond the arc as he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face after an injury-interrupted 2021 season.

A bright spot for Adelaide was Kai Sotto, the 218-centimetre 19-year-old from the Philippines, playing his first NBL minutes for Adelaide in this match. 

Sotto came off the bench and held his own in a battle with Australian basketball icon Nate Jawai, blocking the crafty veteran twice in two minutes in the second quarter. 

The record book were being reached for when Cairns' lead grew to 40 late in the piece, but the 36ers at least finished with the next 14 points and on an 18-4 run to close the game to bring the final margin to 26.

Even Machado, waving a towel high above his head, was leading the celebrations from the sideline with the Orange Army.

This was the last game for both teams before Christmas with the Taipans next up on Boxing Day in Brisbane against the Bullets while the 36ers don't play again until Tuesday December 28 at home to the Perth Wildcats.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 3

CAIRNS TAIPANS 93 (Deng 23, Zimmerman 18, Pinder 15)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 67 (Hannahs 20, Humphries 12, Johnson 12) 

BOX SCORE