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A week that included the sudden replacement of an import, two veterans bringing up 250-game milestones and an NBL great announcing his retirement ended positively for the Cairns Taipans who remained in the finals hunt with a dominant win over the Illawarra Hawks.
The Taipans’ week started on the right foot with a win at home over the Perth Wildcats but in between the return clash at Perth Arena on Friday, things turned a little dramatic.
Underperforming import Fuquan Edwin returned home to the United States and late Thursday night, new import Tony Mitchell lobbed in at Perth airport. He was yet to meet his teammates but preparing to play with them in hostile territory in 18 hours’ time.
In Stephen Weigh’s 250th game in the NBL against the team he won a 2010 championship with, the Snakes appeared to have done enough to come away with a stunning win at Perth Arena.
That was until the under-pressure NBL officials intervened. Nate Jawai copped a rough deal fouling out after appearing dominant at times. A mind-boggling call then sent Wildcats import Bryce Cotton to the line to force overtime.
By the time an against the way the game was called technical flop foul was called on Nnanna Egwu ending his night, the Taipans were fighting against too much with the Wildcats too good in overtime.
It would have been easy for a team with lesser character to throw in the towel after that loss feeling too much against them and that the playoffs were out of reach for a second straight season following a 2015 grand final appearance.
However, the Taipans and blew away the second-placed Hawks at home on Sunday in Alex Loughton’s 250th game before holding off a spirited fight back.
That improved the Snakes to a 10-12 record to be within striking distance of the top four ahead of games this weekend against New Zealand and Brisbane.
Afterwards, Worthington announced that the season will be his last with the dual Olympian deciding that the time is right to call time on a career that has included a 2009 NBL championship and 327 games between the Sydney Kings, South Dragons, Gold Coast Blaze, Melbourne Tigers, Melbourne United and Taipans.
It’s a decision that Worthington has known all season but the time was right on Sunday night to make it public.
He hopes he can help the Taipans into the playoffs to see off his career in the post-season and he’s proud to be doing it at the club that he began his career with as a development player before heading to college at Metro State University in Denver.
“I thought I had one good year left in me and I wanted to enjoy everything that comes with playing basketball. I wanted to enjoy the pre-season, my teammates and the good and bad times. That’s reflected in my play this year that I have enjoyed every moment of it,” Worthington said.
“Hopefully we don’t have six days left, hopefully we have more and whatever the challenges are in the back end of this season, you just have to embrace them. I just want to enjoy this last month for what it is. This is me going out on my terms and still playing well.
“I’ve come full circle here in Cairns. I’m just really, really happy that I get to end my career here and I’m very grateful for people like Fearney and Mark Beecroft who got me here. It’s a nice way to end this for me being a person who has travelled to so many different clubs. It’s been a great ride.”
Loughton got to the 250 mark in Sunday’s win over Illawarra with his career made up of 62 appearances with his hometown Perth Wildcats, and he is Cairns’ third longest-serving player with 188 games.
The 33-year-old has built a tremendous career for himself at the Snakes and while he is a month and five days the senior of Worthington, feels he still has juice left in his tank.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done with the club and what I have achieved. I’m proud with the players and coaches that we’ve had along the way, and how we have gone about our business,” Loughton said.
“It hasn’t always been easy and we’ve had to overcome some adversity, but I will always believe I fought the good fight and it’s not done yet by any means. I’m proud not just of the grand final years, but every season where we’ve fought hard and even if we came up short, we gave it everything.
“The club deserves success and we look back and think how hard we battled, and that’s what we hang our hats on. I’ll be proud to hang up my boots tomorrow knowing that my career was the best that I could get out of my body.”
Weigh brought up his 100th game with Cairns the same night he played his 250th match in the NBL on Friday in Perth where he won a championship during a 94-game career with the Wildcats.
He went on to add 56 with the Adelaide 36ers before joining the Snakes where he’s now amassed 101 appearances.
The 29-year-old is one of the most versatile players in the league and is developing into a strong leader with the Snakes.
“I can’t believe how quickly my nine years in the league have gone. I guess through the nature of what it is I do, it’s such a hectic eight months of the year and you blink and it’s basically gone, and one year quickly runs into two or three,” Weigh said.
“They’ve all been great clubs and I have enjoyed my time thoroughly at each one. To see out my 250th playing for Cairns, it’s pretty special and I love the club. I am a Queenslander through and through so that’s certainly something that I hold dear to my heart.
“As you mature, what you are content with changes and the way that I play now is just different. It’s not as important to me to make sure I score and I don’t feel like I have to do that to contribute. What I want to do is do anything I can to help the team win and be successful.”
Considering the Taipans were getting virtually no value out of Edwin, anything that new import Mitchell provides is a bonus.
He showed exciting signs Friday in Perth hitting a big three that he turned into a four-point play and finishing with a good dunk in limited minutes.
He didn’t get to show what he could do on Sunday but already the glimpses of his athleticism, shooting touch and ability to make a play suggest he could be an impact player over the final three rounds and the playoffs if the Taipans make it.
“He showed up at 10.30 on Thursday night and then had an hour-long Shootaround before having to play in the toughest venue in Australia. He did some good things but then on Sunday he picked up three fouls in two minutes,” Fearne said.
“He needs a couple of days on court to practice and understand what we’re doing, and we have to make a decision on how we are going to use him. I think he can be a dynamic scorer for us and a difficult player for teams to deal with.
“We just have to find that fine edge of not messing with the team either so that’s the challenge for us. He will get better every day and he’s played around the world in different leagues and this isn’t the first time he’s showed up in a situation like this. He knows what’s ahead of him.”
Round 16 NBL results
Thursday
Adelaide 36ers 101 beat Brisbane Bullets 68 at Titanium Security ArenaFriday
Illawarra Hawks 86 lost to New Zealand Breakers 95 at WIN Entertainment Centre
Perth Wildcats 84 beat Cairns Taipans 78 at Perth ArenaSaturday
Brisbane Bullets 88 beat Melbourne United 71 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Adelaide 36ers 87 beat Sydney Kings 73 at Titanium Security ArenaSunday
Cairns Taipans 85 beat Illawarra Hawks 78 at Cairns Convention Centre
New Zealand Breakers 86 beat Perth Wildcats 82 at Vector Arena