The Taipans had a chance this weekend to consolidate their spot in the four as both their games were against the bottom two sides. They split the round.

At home on Friday night the bottom placed Wollongong Hawks ended their seven game skid with a solid performance against our Snakes on our turf.

The Hawks cut an import mid week and it seemed to pay dividends as they came out firing and were never headed against the third placed Taipans.

I was nervous leading up to the game as the Gongers are a side that contested for the title two years ago and apart from different imports, they are still a talented bunch.

Seven losses in a row means one thing - they were due for a win! It was the one that got away for Cairns and a chance to cement third spot but also shows the evenness of the competition in that anyone can beat anyone on any particular night. 

The rumour mill is active again as Ayinde Ubaka is set to now join the Hawks and fill their vacant import point guard position. Expect a fired up Ubaka for the rest of the season and the Hawks making one last assault on a finals berth.

Ironically, they will play the Melbourne Tigers on Friday night (the side that just sacked him) so let's see what last year's star Taipan has in store for these guys. Catch it on ONE HD at 10.30pm.

Last night, however, the Taipans rebounded with a second win in Adelaide in the past fortnight. The 36ers' home court is becoming a happy hunting ground for the far northerners under Fearneys tutelage but it was the home side's stupidity which handed us the win.

The game was tied up with four minutes remaining and a silly foul was committed on a three point bomb from our 'trey' specialist Drew Warren. He converted the bonus but it then got very sloppy for Adelaide.

A bench technical foul was called on coach Marty Clarke (for calling the umpire a great bloke no doubt) which handed our Snakes two free throws and possession.

The act ended up being a nine point play and ultimately a buffer to seal the win. Jamar Wilson was back to his best with 25 points and four assists but it was foundation player Aaron Grabua who was clinical in the fourth.

He had 11 points including three long bombs to ice it for the Snakes when the game was on the line andf it was wonderful stuff from the veteran.

This will leave a proud 36ers franchise in more disarray and the board will be wanting a 'please explain' from the incompetent fools running the bench down there. Marty Clarke should have already been sacked but that should be the icing on the cake.

Good signs for Cairns is that they seem to win with only one import firing so when both get going together maybe we can have another crack at the Big Dance.

Also our twin towers of Loughton and Crosswell, when they both register near double doubles  (double digit points and rebounds) make us as good a big man force as any side.

This happened last night in Adelaide. Former 36ers' rejects Hill and Dowdell are playing nice roles and coach Fearne is possibly the most organised mentor in this caper.

The self confessed basketball junkie watches hours and hours of tape every week in a bid to prepare his troops. We are now two wins clear in the finals picture and looking half a chance!

Quote of the week

Sacked home grown Adelaide product Brad Hill was cut by unproven coach Marty Clarke in the off season and snapped up by the Taipans. After two wins in his home State as the enemy he tweeted a little tongue in cheek message to his former coach - "It's nice to get a win here, I'm not used to winning in Adelaide!"

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