Huge effort makes Cairns Taipans defeat bittersweet
THE Cairns Taipans put in their best effort in weeks on Sunday afternoon away at Melbourne United. But, it was not enough to topple the reigning champions of the NBL.
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HONOURABLE loss is a dirty phrase in sports.
You feel you deserved a victory after putting in all the hard work and effort but it still registers as a defeat in the win-loss column.
Fans and players feel the same about honourable losses — they are hard to swallow.
But, if you are assessing the Cairns Taipans recent run of form, an honourable loss yesterday afternoon against the reigning champions in Melbourne is a positive building block.
For the best part of three and a bit quarters yesterday, the Snakes played some of their best basketball since Round 1, when they upset Brisbane on the road.
The defence was solid, the offence was coming from a variety of options, instead of just a couple, and the confidence was up.
It was the most impressive the club had looked in weeks.
But, as everyone in the NBL knows, toppling the champs at home is one of the toughest prospects in the game.
For all the effort and work, import guard Casper Ware broke Cairns’ hearts with a game-winning 34 points in a display that showed why he is in early MVP consideration.
The Snakes led inside the final minute but it was Ware that was the difference, with United 87-80 winners.
Cairns had a chance to go ahead with 33 seconds to play, but a poor pass from rookie Devon Hall led to DJ Kennedy points and United were never headed again.
“I have to take my hat off to Cairns, they made us work for it,” Ware said.
“I just know it is going to be tough, there is a lot of tough guards in this league and you cannot take any night off.”
In defeat, Nate Jawai put together his strongest game in recent memory with 17 points and 10 boards.
The former NBA centre Jawai cut an imposing figure under the bucket and contributed timely points.
After a slow start again in the first term, it was big man Jawai who got the Snakes ticking, going at opponent Josh Boone on several occasions to collect eight straight points.
Playing with the second unit, import wing Hall hit three straight buckets, including two triples, in the second term to get his confidence flowing.
A 9-0 run straight after the long break gave the visitors their biggest lead of 12.
Guard Melo Trimble led the Snakes with 19 points and four assists.
Skipper Alex Loughton did not dress yesterday, suffering a rolled ankle in the Breakers loss. He is a chance to return this weekend at home to Perth.
Originally published as Huge effort makes Cairns Taipans defeat bittersweet
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