Ninnis says positive signs in Taipans defeat

Adelaide 36ers head coach Scott Ninnis said he was enthused with what he saw despite falling 116-101 to Cairns Taipans at the Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

After falling behind by double figures in the first half, the home side rallied to trail by just four points at the main break and held a two-point lead early in the final quarter.

Ninnis said his side didn’t make the most of the opportunuities when the game was there to be won and build a potential match-winning lead.

“When we got the lead and got our noses in front, there was a chance to move on from there and really put our stamp on the game,” Ninnis said post-match.

“At times there were great signs, the energy was good at times, but we just got to understand we have to make that stand and get that stop.”

Cairns shot a blistering 15-from-28 from the three-point line and scored 24 second chance points, which Ninnis said was the main difference in the game.

“The way they shot the ball from the perimeter was spectacular, we tried a number of things defensively and clearly not a lot of them worked,” Ninnis said.

“We have work to do, 116 points is not going to win games if we are going to give that up.”

NBL Next Star Trentyn Flowers was elevated into the starting line-up by Ninnis, and Nick Marshall was also given extended playing time and he said both showed good signs.

“He (Flowers) didn’t have his greatest game tonight, but I thought his energy and his athleticism helped us,” Ninnis said.

“I’ve said publicly I want to get time into Nick Marshall, he’s an Adelaide kid and one for the future.”

Ninnis said after a tough week at the club, he was impressed with how his roster responded, but disappointed in the end result.

“I appreciate the guys’ effort after what has been a challenging week,” Ninnis said

“We were down early, but we fought back and we were right in the game.

“It just kept getting away from us and in the end it was too much.”

Adelaide now go on the road to face Melbourne United at John Cain Arena next Saturday night.