Taipans Eye Championship

Saturday, January 7, 2023

The Cairns Taipans are mirroring a “championship” team according to star guard Tahjere McCall.

The Taipans entered Nissan Arena and easily conquered the Bullets with a 107-81 win on Thursday night.

Still missing MVP candidate Keanu Pinder, the Snakes earned their third consecutive win and showed their drive and desperation for a championship.

“The next step for our team is when you’re up and putting teams away, that’s what championship teams do. That’s what winning teams do,” McCall said.

“We played together, especially defensively and that’s going to win games. For us to keep our defensive edge and our rebounding edge, that meant a lot to us.”

Assistant coach, and step-in head coach with the absence of an ill Adam Forde, Kerry Williams, praised Cairns’ efforts and acknowledged McCall’s leadership qualities.

“We had to deal with Fordey not being here, he’s our voice, he’s our leader. It was great that we were able to have this performance,” Williams said.

“He (McCall) has been our on-court leader, our emotional leader and he’s been able to keep this group together and the group is just fun.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hustle plays ?<br>Tahjere gets the steal and lays it in with ease!<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cairnstaipans</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> <a href="https://t.co/pO3mOcBi1q">pic.twitter.com/pO3mOcBi1q</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1610923416101752833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Taipans had a huge collective effort, as five players scored in double-digits, including three over 20 points.

The relationship of the group has been vital, as it has helped Cairns rise to third on the ladder with a 13-7 record.

“It just goes to show the process, the guys are trusting in what we do,” Williams said.

The Taipans play the fifth placed South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday at 4:00pm AEDT.