Cairns Marlins pay tribute to legendary 2004 ABA champions
A commitment to playing “pure” basketball and unwavering belief in their teammates paved the path to glory for the Cairns Marlins’ 2004 ABA championship, withstanding a shooting clinic from a future Australian basketball legend in the process.
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A commitment to playing “pure” basketball and unwavering belief in their teammates paved the path to glory for the Cairns Marlins’ 2004 ABA championship, withstanding a shooting clinic from a future Australian basketball legend in the process.
Facing the formidable Shawn Redhage and the Northwest Tasmania Thunder in the grand final, the Marlins found themselves down 19 points early before storming home to claim the title 104-100 in Geelong.
Two decades on, close mates and former Marlins stars Kane Oakley and Ben Arkell remember the stoush vividly.
“The first half, Shawn was lighting me up,” Oakley, who also played five seasons for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL, said. “We were playing like crap and they were kicking our ass.”
But a savvy defensive switch from then head coach Mark Beecroft, assigning star guard Aaron Grabau to slow down the sweet shooting Nebraskan turned the tide in the second half with precocious teenagers Nate Jawai and Aron Baynes showing flashes of brilliance.
Arkell, a pass-first point guard, said the unselfish playing culture was the reason the Marlins’ championship banner hangs in the Fish Tank’s rafters today.
“The whole team was like that,” he said.
“It’s the greatest fun I’ve had playing basketball. We had those established guys on the team and then a young wave coming through.
“Aron and Nate were very raw … but whenever their number was called those guys got the job done and we had complete faith in them.
“In the grand final, Nate came on and had eight quick points because he was just too big.”
Jawai and Baynes have both gone on to enjoy brilliant careers, gracing the hardwood both in the NBA and domestically as well as representing Australia.
“You could definitely see their potential,” Arkell said.
“But they were so young, so they probably didn’t get a lot of opportunities.
“Both of them had these moments where you’d go, ‘Wow.’ If they can both continue there’s something there.”
A rim rattling slam from Jawai on former NBL hardman Grant Kruger in Townsville that left bystanders running for cover was an early sign of the Bamaga big man’s immense power.
“He just posterised him,” Arkell said. “It was just this incredible physicality.
With Aron, you saw the learning curve. You’d walk into the gym and see him in there working.
“(Former Marlin Aron Fearne) ‘Fearney’ deserves a lot of credit for that too. Just putting so much time into him. If they could harness what they had they were definitely going somewhere.”
The legendary 2004 Marlins squad were recognised on Friday night, celebrating the 20th anniversary since their famous win, at the Fish Tank.
The team which fostered other future NBL stars, including Kerry Williams and provided a start for one of the Marlins’ favourite sons, ageless point guard Curt Ah Wang will forever be a special group.
“There were no idiots,” Oakley said. “Nobody needed the ball in their hands to show off. We had a great team and a great system.”
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