Cairns Taipans 71-86 NZ Breakers

Oh man, how good was that!? If the systematic demolishings of Adelaide were impressive then this reaches on a whole new level. Cairns were the best team all season, slaughtering the Breakers on one occasion and beating them twice in NZ, but in this Grand Final opener they were second best from post to post.

It was a beautiful thing to watch. Maximum intensity on defence was the foundation of this win. Led by Mika Vukona and Ekene Ibekwe, ably aided by the rest of them, Cairns were made to work hard just to get a shot off every time. Like, every single time. A few possessions they worked some magic but never down to the lack of effort defensively. This is a quality team, remember.

Meanwhile NZB translated that pressure into rebounds and turnovers and would absolutely tear away in transition. Sprinting down the court. It worked wonders as they started the game shooting 10 of their first 11 field goals. A Corey Webster triple gave them their first lead, 6-5, with 1:37 played. They held that lead throughout.

An 11 point advantage at quarter time was a near-perfect, the only issue being could they keep up this rapid pace and rabid intensity? It was like gunning it from the start of a 1500m race.

Well, not quite. That insane shooting percentage had to fall back to earth and it did. However Cairns had the boy language of a deer in headlights. They were being blown out at home in a final and the panic was palpable in the crowd. They weren’t hitting threes and that was only making it easier for the suffocating Breakers defence to thrive. No outside threat means no spacing, something the Cairns coach (ANBL Coach of the Year Aaron Fearne) stressed hard in his timeout chats.

The Breakers got slammed in a loss at this very stadium earlier in the season where they shot 0-17 from 3pt. So it was telling that they never seemed to rely on the long ball here. Instead it was Cedric’s ability to get to the rim and finish those tough lay-ups, it was Ekene Ibekwe’s unstoppable range in close, it was Abercrombie hitting deep twos. A surging finish to the half had them up 50-34.

If you thought that was that, though, then you clearly haven’t seen Cairns play too often this season. They have a mascot that gives nightmares to children and a ruthless sonofabitch named Scottie Wilbekin at point guard. They hit a few trebles in the third and suddenly things got tougher. Mika fell into foul trouble and as he sat down, the comeback came. Cairns hitting shots, the Breakers suddenly on the back foot for the first time. Momentum swinging.

It became the Cedric vs Scottie show as the star point guards traded plays with the game on the line. An 11-4 run for the home team closed the lead to 3. Abercrombie hits a deep ball, Cam Gliddon replies with one of his own. At the end of the third, the lead was down to just a single, vulnerable point. Cairns winning the third quarter 26-11.

And that’s where Rhys Carter stepped up. The man’s played in three consecutive finals series for three different teams, he knows this stage. With just two points to his name to that point, he nailed a triple early in the fourth for a little breathing room. Then added a two pointer. And another three… he scored 10 instrumental fourth quarter points. He was crucial on a night where no other bench player on either team scored double figures.

Reuben Te Rangi made a couple nice defensive plays, Cedric continued his barrage and the lead ballooned back out to double figures. Thus the Breakers closed it out, wrestling home-court advantage away from the Taipans and taking a massive step towards a fourth title in five years.

One more win required, two more chances to do it.

The job’s only half done.

Bring on Sunday #breakernation
— Thomas Abercrombie (@tomabo10) March 6, 2015

Cedric Jackson led the show with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 9-20 and straight dominated. Ekene Ibekwe, a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up and second team All-ANBL, added 19 points and 8 boards with 8-10 from the field. So many times he was there to clean up or finish it off. Those two players have been colossal all season, what a pair of imports.

Add to that 13 points from Tom Abercrombie, 8 & 4 from Mika, and Rhys Carter’s 12. Wilbekin scored 16 for Cairns, Gliddon with 13and both Burston (11) & Loughton (10) hit double figures too. Sixth Man of the Year Cam Tragardh was held to just 4 points off the bench.

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Cedric Jackson, how can you even begin to measure the value of this man? Second place in the MVP votes, it’s hard to imagine too many would have argued if he’d won. He was named in the All-ANBL starting five this week, and now looks to become the first man to win the title in his first three seasons in the league (remember he was in Europe last year).

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – An off night for Corey Webster. He only scored 8 points, and every one of them came in the first quarter. After that he struggled to get his shots and picked up a few fouls. He’d foul out with a little over a minute to play. Only attempting 8 shots all game, it’s fair to say it just didn’t go his way with the emphasis on scoring in the paint (48 Breakers points came that way). Doubt he’ll care one but if he gets to lift that trophy…