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Cairns Taipans 79
Illawarra Hawks 74
A back and forth, momentum shifting game at the Cairns Convention Centre has seen the minor premiers of last season, the Cairns Taipans take out a hard fought and in no way, shape or form commanding five point victory over the Illawarra Hawks.
For the Hawks, it was their first game being named as Illawarra after being known as Wollongong for quite some time.
They put in a gallant effort, staying in the game all night long and after being blown out of the water during the first quarter, coming back strongly to get back into the match.
After a fast start to the match from both sides, neither looking like they wanted to hold the ball for much of their shot clocks, but rather losing off fast shots. Neither team was able to settle into their rhythm and it looked like a typical opening match of the season.
Eventually, in the back end of the first quarter it would be the Cairns Taipans to settle into their rhythm first and run away to an eight point lead by the end of the first quarter.
This seemed to directly correlate with Mark Worthington coming into the game as the Taipans sixth man, and AJ Ogilvy having to sit down with foul trouble.
However, as the second quarter began, it was Tyson Demos who led a complete and total turn around for the Hawks to bring them back into the lead. He was good on both ends and by half time it was all square at 38 all.
After the fast start to the second quarter though, the Hawks didn’t go on with it and the two sides traded basket after basket although the Taipans ended up in massive foul trouble and it could be argued that the Hawks were kept in the game late in the second by countless trips to the free throw line.
The second half was a different story.
A good quality third quarter saw the game stay close and a number of times it looked like the Taipans were going to run away with it however the Hawks would always find someone to stand up with the likes of Cody Ellis and in particular Kirk Penney lighting up.
For the Taipans it was Cameron Giddon, Stepehen Wight and Alex Loughton, backed up by Mark Worthington who was absolutely fantastic on both ends of the floor.
Down the stretch, with just four minutes to go the Hawks held the lead. However the amount of players that stood up for the Taipans pushed them out to a seven point lead.
One three from Giddon seemed to seriously sink the Hawks as the game approached the last minute and they would never truly recover.
A fantastic win for the Taipans as they now head out onto the road for six of their next seven games. The first of those is against the Sydney Kings on Saturday.
Meanwhile the Hawks have their first home game against Melbourne United on Sunday afternoon.
Last year’s runner up, the Cairns Taipans, open their 2015-16 NBL season against the rebranded Illawarra Hawks at the Cairns Convention Centre. Join The Roar for live coverage from 7:15pm (AEDT).
The pre-season Blitz tournament was a strong one for both sides. The Taipans won all three of their games and only missed out on winning the Loggins-Bruton Cup through the complex bonus-points system by half a point to Melbourne United, who shape as an incredibly strong outfit this season.
The Hawks meanwhile won games against the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers in commanding performances. They did however lose their first game, against Melbourne United, by seven points in a high-scoring affair.
The Taipans won the minor premiership last season, before going down to the New Zealand Breakers in the final. After becoming the first club in history to use the same starting five for every game of the season, four of those players – Cameron Giddon, Matt Burston, Stephen Weigh and Alex Loughton – have been retained, while point guard Scottie Wilbekin has moved to the USA to chase an NBA dream. He is likely to be replaced by Markel Starks.
If Starks can gel into the Taipans’ combinations after playing in Italy last season, then there is no reason they can’t be similarly consistent to last season.
It will be interesting to see if all the new management structures put in place over the off-season work for the Hawks straight away. Off-court issues can affect on-court play, however if the Blitz is anything to go by then the Hawks are in for a strong season.
Andrew Ogilvy is their most important player, and they will look to get the ball to him as often as possible. However, Tyson Demos could be a real x-factor player for the Hawks, having announced himself during the Blitz.
Usual suspects Oscar Forman and Kirk Penney will also be relied on heavily.
Prediction
While the Hawks almost look the better team on paper, the Taipans have beaten Illawarra in six of their last eight meetings, and three out of the last four at the Cairns Convention Centre.
Taipans by 3.
Join The Roar for live coverage of this first round clash from 7:15pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own thoughts as the game progresses.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde