An impressive fightback from Tasmania has lifted Scott Roth’s men over the Cairns Taipans in Far North Queensland, in a win which keeps them in touch with the top six.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the NBL’s southernmost franchise, but Saturday evening’s win against a motivated Cairns outfit will pair nicely with Wednesday night’s 89-81 victory over South East Melbourne.
It must have been an incredibly frustrating opening term for the JackJumpers as it took five minutes for them to finally take the lid off the basket, but once they found their groove they were unerring.
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With every passing minute the Taipans lead – once in double digits – felt less and less safe, until they eventually took the lead midway early in the third term.
Josh Bannan’s presence on the inside was unmistakeable, as was Will Magnay, while Bryce Hamilton went to work on the perimeter.
Tassie benefited from far superior execution down the stretch, forcing live ball turnovers which led to wide open dunks, while David Johnson came to life in the closing minutes, nailing a three and an and-one lay-up in consecutive possessions.
Tasmania now has an eight-day break before they host Perth, with the chance to keep this push for seeding going.
The Taipans welcomed Sam Waardenburg into the active line-up for the first time this season, with last year’s club MVP having finally rehabilitated an ankle injury that has kept him firmly on the sidelines.
And he was immediately in the action, first diving for and winning a loose ball only to inadvertently step out of bounds while on the ground, before throwing down an alley-oop off a designed backdoor cut.
His presence seemed to spur the Snakes into action at both ends of the court, as they scored the first 13 points of the game and didn’t concede a basket until halfway through the opening term.
While unconfirmed, it appears Waardenburg was on a minutes restriction as he played approximately half of each quarter, likely a call designed to ease him back into top-flight competitive basketball.
Jack McVeigh was relentless early against his former club, taking advantage of every opening on offence to pour on the pain.
The Snakes superstar seemed to benefit from Waardenburg’s presence on the court as the Taipans were able to stretch the defence and make their opponents guard more of the court.
It’s a set-up that has the potential to become even more potent as the pairing gets more time on court and in practice together.
Andrew Andrews continued his hot start to the return from the break, hitting some timely threes (including a four-point play) and showcasing his ability to attack the hoop.
— NCA NewsWire
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