Perth Wildcats beat the Cairns Taipans 105-76

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The Cairns Taipans played their first home game of the season on Monday, losing to the Perth Wildcats 105-76.

Perth began strongly, but the Snakes ended the first quarter leading by one point, thanks to triples from Bul Kuol and Jonah Antonio.

The Wildcats dominated the second quarter, leading by 23 points at the break, before the Taipans surged early in the third quarter, posting nine early points.

But they couldn’t maintain the momentum, and the Wildcats took advantage of 18 Cairns turnovers.

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Perth went on to win by 29, remaining unbeaten, and spoiling Taipans hopes for a homecoming victory.

It was a disappointing first loss of the season, following strong wins on the road against the Tasmania JackJumpers and South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Keanu Pinder made 18 points and 15 rebounds, Sam Waardenburg got 14 points, while DJ Hogg added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Taipans head coach, Adam Forde, said the Wildcats are a formidable opponent.

“Perth did a great job pushing us out and then, when they got out and ran, we were failing just to pick up coverage points.

“We made a lot of simple errors which obviously snowballed into bigger errors, and then you get a result like that second quarter.

“This is part of the learning curve for this group because there were things that really rattled our cage so it's about how we respond to that.

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“We have to understand that we got a response in the last few games when we were down, but tonight shook us a little bit more given it was our home court.

“We are still trying to win back the trust of the community after they've had two years of bad results. It's important we put a product on the floor that they can get behind.”

Newly signed Taipans forward, Josh Davey, said he enjoyed his first home game.

“It was awesome being out there. I've heard so much about the fans here and how supportive they are, and they were loud the whole game.

“It means everything to me to be here. To be having my first NBL stint here at Cairns is just a dream come true. I love it.”

The Taipans are back on the road, playing defending champions, Sydney Kings, on Friday night.

sport

Main points

  • Taipans go down to Wildcats 105-76
  • It's their first loss of the season after two wins on the road
  • The Taipans play Sydney Kings on Friday night.
It's really important that the guys learn and evolve from this because we can't just shoot ourselves out of it.
Adam Forde
Taipans coach