Bul Kuol fired in 23 factors as Cairns Taipans withstood a late problem from the struggling Brisbane Bullets to assert an 85-76 NBL victory within the all-Queensland battle.
The Taipans held the lead for almost all of Wednesday night time’s conflict at Cairns Convention Centre however have been pressured to navigate some anxious moments after the Bullets recovered from a 15-point deficit within the closing phases.
Late baskets from Nathan Sobey and Gorjok Gak lowered the margin to 6 factors inside two minutes to play, and Sobey missed a possibility to make it a one-possession sport with an off-target three-point try.
But Taj McCall and Kuol iced the sport from the free-throw line because the Taipans claimed their ninth win of the season to stay on observe for a return to the NBL playoffs after a two-year absence.
While Kuol’s 23 factors got here in simply 24 minutes on court docket and teammates DJ Hogg, Keanu Pinder and McCall every completed in double figures, coach Adam Forde expressed a stage of frustration together with his aspect’s progress on the offensive finish of the ground.
“It’s nothing to do with the personnel because we’re very capable, it’s trying to get key guys in particular positions and I want to be further down the track than where we are,” Forde mentioned after the win.
“The good thing is we’ve got a string of games coming up, that’s going to help us build a bit of momentum.”
Already languishing in ninth spot on the ladder with a 4-9 report, Brisbane’s turbulent season took one other twist with Greg Vanderjagt stepping in as head coach on Tuesday after Sam Mackinnon relinquished the interim position to concentrate on his duties as common supervisor of basketball.
In the moments after his teaching debut, Vanderjagt admitted that the turmoil over the decision-making processes on the membership had turn out to be an unwelcome distraction however he remained totally dedicated to working with the taking part in group and discovering consistency.
“My concern is for (Nathan) Sobey and the rest of the group, for their welfare and well-being. The distractions are frustrating, there’s no doubt about that, for the group,” Vanderjagt mentioned following Brisbane’s fifth loss up to now six video games.
“They’ve been through a lot over the course of this season, over the course of the last couple of years.”
After passing a late health take a look at to take his place within the squad, Aron Baynes top-scored for the Bullets with 17 factors, together with a run of eight straight factors as a part of a promising 11-3 begin, whereas Gak continued his current growth to complete with 10 factors and 11 rebounds.
