To The South: Perth Returns, Quality Continues

With Canadian basketball still scarce for the time being, other content will be making appearances on TTN in the interim.

Round Two of the 2021 NBL season ended with more high-octane, exciting basketball with teams making early claims of glory putting on some quality performances, with hopefully plenty more to come.

Sydney Kings vs Cairns Taipans

Brad Newley's three-point shooting would be what would separate Sydney from the Taipans in a closely-contested first quarter. After leading by only a point at the end of ten minutes, Jarell Martin led Sydney's second quarter scoring which took them to a double-digit lead.

Cameron Oliver and Kouat Noi combined to cut down the King's big advantage in the third quarter, at the end of which Cairns trailed by a single point following a statement dunk from Mojave King. In the final period the Taipans, on multiple occasions, made it a one-possession game, even briefly holding a one-point lead. Late heroics from Casper Ware, though, would save the game for Sydney.

Martin had the last points of the game to complete his 22-point, 10-rebound performance to make the final scoreline stand at 99-91 to the Kings, who also saw 22 points from Ware and 17 bench points from Newley. Oliver had a game-high 27 points along with 10 total boards for Cairns in their loss.

Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne Phoenix

Defending champions Perth Wildcats were the last team to take to the courts for NBL 21, quickly showing the long time away from the court had not effected their game, taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

This gave way to Adam Gibson closing the gap for SEM, then giving the team their first lead of the game in the second quarter, which became eight points in the third. Luke Travers then did the same for Perth, bringing them to within a point of their opponents, after which Bryce Cotton restored the lead for the Wildcats.

The game then sat on a knife edge, with the slender lead changing hands between the teams until the final stretch, which saw Perth finish proceedings with a 14-0 run to guarantee themselves opening day victory. A team-high 17 points was small consolation for Mitch Creek, as his team fell to the defending champions 88-76, with a leading 27-point performance by Cotton for the Wildcats.

Cairns Taipans vs Melbourne United

After Melbourne opened the game with a 5-0 run, it took Cairns less than a minute to level the scores. Melbourne responded by taking an eleven-point lead, to which the Taipans responded with 12 unanswered points, bringing them to within a point midway through Q2. Jock Landale and Jack White ensured the lead stayed with Melbourne, even with Cairns constantly getting close to taking it back.

The Taipans started to cut their deficit in the fourth quarter, with successive threes from Fabijan Krslovic and Mirko Djeric making it a one-point game in the final minute. Scott Machado had two attempts to win the game for Cairns, but coming up short, Melbourne prevailed with the victory. Their second straight, while also handing the Taipans their second straight loss.

With 19 points, Machado was the lead scorer for the Taipans, who also saw 17 points and 13 rebounds from Cameron Oliver in the loss. Also finishing with 19 points was Landale for Melbourne United, the lead scorer in their 87-85 win.

Picture: Paul Kane