In a stunning upset, the last-place Cairns Taipans delivered a crushing blow to the Brisbane Bullets’ fading NBL playoff aspirations with a comprehensive 111-80 road victory. The Taipans dominated from start to finish, leading 62-45 at halftime before putting the game away with a 29-15 fourth quarter surge.
Rob Edwards Catches Fire for Taipans
Cairns guard Rob Edwards put on a shooting clinic, draining 7 of 11 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 35 points. The sharpshooting import did most of his damage in the first half, pouring in 22 to give the Snakes a commanding 17-point cushion at the break.
I was just feeling it tonight. My teammates did a great job of finding me and I was able to knock down some shots. It was a big win for us.
– Rob Edwards on his stellar performance
Taipans’ Balanced Attack Overwhelms Bullets
Edwards wasn’t the only Taipan to stuff the stat sheet. Rookie point guard Taran Armstrong orchestrated the offense to the tune of 19 points and 8 assists, while big man Tanner Groves added 17 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting.
- Pedro Bradshaw: 15 pts, 7 reb
- Kyrin Galloway: 9 pts, highlight dunks
- Taran Armstrong: 19 pts, 8 ast, 1 stl
Bullets’ Stars Battle Through Injuries
Brisbane’s depleted roster was dealt another scare when leading scorer Casey Prather limped off favoring his right knee in the first quarter. The import returned to post a team-high 22 points and 9 rebounds but clearly wasn’t at 100%.
Rising star Josh Bannan battled valiantly with 16 points and 12 boards for his NBL-leading 14th double-double. However, it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the Taipans’ red-hot shooting and swarming defense.
Bullets Playoff Hopes Fading Fast
The blowout loss, Brisbane’s third straight by a combined 76 points, drops them to 8th place at 13-16. With only five games remaining, the Bullets likely need to win out and get some help to sneak into the postseason.
| Team | Record | GB |
| 5. Melbourne | 16-13 | – |
| 6. S.E. Melbourne | 15-14 | 1 |
| 7. Illawarra | 14-15 | 2 |
| 8. Brisbane | 13-16 | 3 |
Taipans Playing Spoiler Role
Though Cairns sits dead last at 10-19, they have embraced the spoiler role down the stretch. The Snakes have now won two straight against top six teams and will look to build on that momentum Saturday against the 5th place Melbourne United.
The Taipans and Bullets will meet one final time in the penultimate game of the regular season in what could very well be an elimination game for Brisbane. Buckle up NBL fans, the race for the final playoff berths is going down to the wire!
