Melbourne NBL stranglehold continues as Taipans fall to rising Phoenix

The Victorian control over the NBL ladder resumed on Friday night, with South East Melbourne’s victory over the Cairns Taipans lifting them to second place behind only local rivals Melbourne United.

The Phoenix went into Cairns Convention Centre with an unwavering focus which saw them totally smother the Taipans’ offense.

And when it was their turn to score they did so mostly with precision, and even when they didn’t it rarely mattered.

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The Phoenix seemed to be able to find a good look – or make a tough one – whether there was 18 seconds or two seconds on the shot clock.

The Taipans got increased production out of their star man in Jack McVeigh, while Admiral Schofield found some offensive rhythm.

But it was overshadowed by an epic all-round performance from the Phoenix, as yet again the Snakes allowed five opposition players to hit double digits, as Angus Glover led all-comers with 20.

The Taipans gave their home crowd some moments to cheer about late in the contest as they trimmed the lead back below 20 in the fourth.

But it was apropos of nothing as the Phoenix took care of business and kept themselves in touch with the ladder leaders.

Glover shooting flames

The Phoenix staff might need to start bringing a portable fire extinguisher with them to every game if Glover is going to stay this hot from beyond the arc.

The 27-year-old New South Welshman had the ultimate green light to let it fly from well beyond the arc, hitting some truly back-breaking triples on what were decent defensive possessions from Cairns.

For all their woes, the Taipans have been a decent team at defending the three this season, and they continued that trend against most of South East Melbourne. Glover’s range and efficiency was simply a cut above, as he finished the first half shooting 5/8 from long range with 17 points.

Turnovers devastate Taipans

Offensive miscues have been part and parcel of the Cairns basketball experience so far this season.

But some of the errors on Friday night seemed especially egregious.

Perhaps the apparent severity was compounded by the fact that the Taipans first true possession of the game saw Admiral Schofield more or less drop the ball out of bounds on what should have been a regulation handoff.

Live ball turnovers, shot clock violations, stepping out of bounds, this game had them all.

The lineup shuffle has been never-ending for Cairns, but there’s a level of disjointedness that just shouldn’t be possible at the elite level regardless of who is on the floor.

Mo money, mo problems

Mojave King continues to make the most of the opportunity to step into a crucial role with the Taipans.

He may not have reached the heights of his sensational 32-point outing last week, but the hustle plays combined with some timely makes beyond the arc made him among the team’s best contributors.

Both he and Forde have answered plenty of questions about his rapid rise to prominence, and while they’ll look to continue to keep a lid on things, his value to this side is becoming hard to deny after just four appearances.

Match details

Cairns Taipans 90 (McVeigh 22, King 16, Schofield 14)

SEM Phoenix 101 (Glover 24, Sobey 17, Brown III 13)