NBL: Ayre ‘played his role’ in Taipans’ big win over United
Ben Ayre has praised the trust of his Taipans teammates after he blasted his way to a season-best performance.
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BEN Ayre has praised the trust of his Taipans teammates after he blasted his way to a season-best performance in the 25-point thumping of Melbourne United, in the club’s first win on their home court.
Before Friday night’s NBL crunch clash, the Taipans were yet to win in Cairns this season while United hadn’t lost on the road. And while the scores were locked just minutes out from halftime, the Taipans blew the visitors off the park with an unreal 38-10 point run from the 18th minute through to three-quarter time.
That was despite a limited rotation, with four Snakes unavailable through injury - two of whom (Sam Waardenburg and Jonah Antonio) they lost hours before tip-off.
Ayre, who made his debut last year and became an instant favourite among fans, finished with a season-high 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and steal and a block.
He came off a bench which, before tip-off, had a combined 21 NBL games - 16 of which belonged to Ayre. For context, United’s bench had a combined 702 appearances.
“I just came out and played my role,” he said.
“Us bench guys know what we have to do so I came out and we were able to do that.
“I just thrive off the trust of the guys in the room and I know my role, and just play to that.
“It was good out there and I think the crowd deserves that so we were happy to put on a show for them tonight.”
Injury replacement player Gabe Hadley made his NBL debut, sinking the Taipans’ last bucket - a tough three - with his only shot.
Hadley and development player Josh Davey were called into the squad to cover for the loss of Tahjere McCall and Mirko Djeric through injury.
The NBL will now break due to the FIBA window, with the Snakes to next hit the court against the Bullets in Brisbane on November 19.
Cairns next play at home on Friday, November 25, when they host the Breakers.
TAIPANS DELIVER FIRST HOME WIN OF NBL23
Adam Forde has preached about the “championship mentality” the Taipans must take if they are to be a serious contender for the NBL finals.
And on Friday, the second-year Cairns coach’s wishes came true.
Cairns snapped its win-less run at home with a massive 97-72 triumph at Cairns Convention Centre on the back of a third-quarter show for which the heavyweight Melbourne United simply had no answer.
After being locked at 33-33 shortly before halftime, the Taipans went into the break ahead 41-33 as part of a 14-0 run in the third quarter on their way to opening a lead which at one stage reached 40 points in the final term – their biggest in-game lead of the campaign to date.
Forde’s recently preached about the importance of showing no mercy – turning a 10-point lead into 20, 20 into 30, and so on – and on Friday night, the Snakes did just that as they moved into third on the ladder.
“That was a great effort by the boys,” Forde said.
Bul Kuol shot at 50 per cent from the field on his way to 18 points, Keanu Pinder grabbed his fourth double-double of the NBL23 campaign with 18 points and 11 rebounds and DJ Hogg finished with 17 points, which included five long-range bombs.
Shannon Scott (13pts) and Majok Deng (10) also hit double figures.
Melbourne United arrived in Cairns unbeaten on the road but returned south with nothing but a massive loss to show for it.
Isaac Humphries top-scored for the visitors with 17 points, Chris Goulding had 12, and Makuach Maluach was next best with 10.
They have less than 48 hours to turn their luck around when they take on South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Throwdown at John Cairns Arena.
INJURY CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
Luck didn’t smile on the Snakes before tip-off, who were without four regular starters for the clash.
Tahjere McCall (hip) and Mirko Djeric (ankle) were already out, before Cairns lost Sam Waardenburg (foot) and Jonah Antonio (illness) on game day.
It left Cairns with the least experienced bench in the NBL this season with a combined 21 games – 16 of which are attributed to back-up point guard Ben Ayre.
For context, United’s bench had a combined 702 appearances.
But it meant little, as Forde’s restricted rotation showed it had plenty of venom, cashing in on the consistency of the lineup to leave the United defence grasping thin air.
Gabe Hadley made his NBL debut, sinking a three with his first shot in the national league, while Lat Mayen and Josh Davey proved they belong in the leading competition.
OPPORTUNITY LOST
Melbourne United came to Cairns with the opportunity to slay a weakened opponent and returned to Victoria with their tails between their legs.
United coach Dean Vickerman lamented the way his side took a step back after a strong win against Perth on Monday, as the visitors fell to 4-5 – and out of the top six - after their first road loss of the season.
“Most of the first quarter I thought we had some good looks and had a chance to be ahead through that period so I was disappointed heading into the half, but I could see our energy levels wavering and we did some things that weren’t winning habits, and that’s what I’m so mad about,” Vickerman said.
“We took some steps forward during the Perth game in the way we played, and shared the basketball, and shared the basketball, but we just waver right now, and we saw that in the third quarter.
“We couldn’t get a stop, couldn’t get a rebound, and that game blew out very quickly in the way they kept coming downhill and making shots.
“We were looking for all kind of alternatives… through that period they were just too good.”
Things just didn’t seem to click for United, especially through the middle half.
Their score at three-quarter time – 43 – was the lowest in their history, as the Snakes’ depleted roster out-enthused the visitors.
Melbourne United have less than 48 hours to recover ahead of the Throwdown at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.
“I took a moment after the game to try and gather myself, I had to let this group know we took a step backwards again, it’s not what we were hoping for. We had a good week of practice in preparation for this, and we didn’t see this one coming.
“I certainly let them know the areas that weren’t acceptable.”
PRE-GAME: TAIPANS SUFFER INJURY BLOW
THE Taipans have suffered an injury blow hours out from their crunch NBL Round 6 clash with Melbourne United.
Sam Waardenburg has been ruled out of the Cairns Convention Centre clash and sent for scans due to inflammation in his left foot.
Sharp-shooting young gun Jonah Antonio was also a game-time decision due to illness, but was ruled out an hour before tip-off.
The Taipans were already without the services of star import Tahjere McCall, who is due back from a hip injury after the FIBA window, while Mirko Djeric is still out with an ankle injury.
Development player Josh Davey and training player Gabe Hadley were already set to suit up, but coach Adam Forde may have a heavily reduced rotation when the Snakes seek an end to their winless run at the Snake pit.
The Taipans overturned a 14-point deficit to beat Melbourne United when they met at John Cain Arena earlier this season.
That game, in which Keanu Pinder (26pts, 10reb, 3 ast, 3 stl) led the way, featured an incredible 22-0 run by Cairns as they came from behind to win.
HOW TAIPANS CAN PROVE THEY ARE GENUINE NBL TITLE CONTENDERS
THE Taipans can prove they are a legitimate NBL championship contender if they can end their winless run at the Snakepit against heavyweights Melbourne United.
Cairns have lost games at home this season, with their last win at Cairns Convention Centre was in April when they downed Brisbane Bullets by 14 points in the last game of NBL22.
After losing the last two games less than five points, both from winnable positions, coach Adam Forde said the mindset had to change if they are to be considered among the best in the league.
Last Saturday, the Taipans led Sydney by seven points at half time and as much as 11 before going down to a heartbreaking buzzer beater three from former Snake Kouat Noi.
“If we want to be a legitimate contender, which is what our plan is to be, then we gotta do a better job of closing out these close games,” Forde said.
“When we are up 10 which has been the case the last couple of games, it tends to tighten us up.
“To be a championship team, you have to have the mindset to go this 10-point lead is going to be a 20-point lead, this 20-point lead is going to be a 30-point lead.”
The Taipans have already beaten Melbourne Utd once this season, earning a four-point on the Victorian club’s home court.
Keanu Pinder finished that game with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
As they prepare to repeat that feat, import point guard Shannon Scott said the team had moved on from the loss to Sydney quickly and would approach this clash with a clear aim to strengthen their position in the top four.
“Upset with the last loss, thought we were in the game, should have won that game but we can’t let it effect our next game,” Scott said.
“If we can get a three-possession lead then we gotta keep it and we gotta do better with that.”
Cairns fell to Perth and New Zealand in their two home games so far, but Scott said that poor home record isn’t a concern for the team.
“We don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves with that, that's a record thing at home but a game is a game,” Scott said.
“End of the day, they will see our overall record and that’s that.”
Melbourne United are coming off a two-game winning streak against last-placed Illawarra and Perth, and will be looking to leapfrog Cairns on the NBL ladder if they win on Friday night.
Tip-off at 6.30pm.
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