Sixers set for Snakes assignment

Adelaide 36ers will travel to Far North Queensland this week to battle Cairns Taipans on Saturday with a point to prove.

The Taipans fell in their opening match 102-75 against Illawarra Hawks at HoopsFest in Perth last Saturday night, and the Snakes will be looking to rebound in front of their home fans.

After keeping with last year’s semi-finalists for three quarters, Cairns were outscored 30-15 in the final 10 minutes.

Cairns has had a significant roster turnover in the off-season, bringing in three new imports, while also recruiting former 36ers power forward Kyrin Galloway. 

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THE KEY
Big man Sam Waardenburg will be looking to get back to his NBL23 standard after several injuries hampered his NBL24 season.

The 25-year-old New Zealand national was a top priority when first signed by the Taipans out of college and his impact was immediate, winning the NBL’s inaugural Next Generation Award averaging 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and shooting 53 per cent from the field.

Waardenburg struggled last season for consistency, missing five games but still managing 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and improving to 1.8 assists per night.

The 208cm power forward has the ability to stretch the floor and expect former Taipan Lat Mayen to get the first assignment on the New Zealand international. 

THE SECRET
Cairns have retooled with a trio of new imports for the NBL25 season, with head coach Adam Forde knowing exactly what he wanted early on.

Tanner Groves and Rob Edwards signed with the Far North Queensland club early in free agency, with both players having extensive experience within NBA side's Oklahoma City’s organisation – Groves at Summer League and Edwards in the NBA and G-League.

“If these guys are ready to go international and we can provide a platform and opportunity for them to excel, what am I really waiting for at Summer League if I feel these guys are the perfect fit now?” Forde said after the signings.

“It’s the body of work we put in knowing we’re making a really calculated decision, and timing wise it works out well for them to make the move to the NBL.”

Cairns concluded their import trio by adding swingman Pedro Bradshaw, who played NBA Summer League with the Charlotte Hornets.

Both Edwards and Bradshaw struggled from the field in the Taipans’ opening round defeat to the Hawks, but Groves excelled, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds as he played the perfect big man role alongside Waardenburg.

Expect all three imports to be ready to fire in front of their home crowd for the first time, and the 36ers need to make sure their impact is below expectation. 

DEPTH CHART
PG: Edwards / Dufulmeier
SG: Antonio / Stattmann
SF: Bradshaw / Stith / Higgins-Titsha
PF: Waardenburg / Galloway
C: Groves / Gak

 THE FINAL WORD
Adelaide will look to improve on what was an impressive opening rounf showing despite going down to the Kings.

The 36ers will need to be on guard right from the opening tip and expect the Taipans to put up a fight for the entire 40 minutes.

A backcourt of Kendric Davis and new captain DJ Vasiljevic should look to gain the upper hand against a Taipans team without point guards Taran Armstrong, Jackson Makoi and Kyle Adnam.

By cleaning up the turnovers and limiting the offensive rebounds, Adelaide should look to push the ball and have the capacity to execute in the half court.

A bounce back game for both sides, in particular for Adelaide, who took the Kings to the limit on Round One, you can catch all the action live and exclusive on ESPN via Kayo Sports.