Match Recap: NBL23 Round 5 Game 1 vs Cairns Taipans

Written by Melbourne United Media 

Melbourne United arrived in Cairns looking to continue their winning form and maintain their strong record on the road so far in NBL23.

The first quarter started as a low-scoring affair, with both teams struggling on the offensive end, resulting in the two teams being tied up 15-15 going into the second.

The see-sawing continued into the second quarter, as the Taipans started to pull away, United clawed them back. Melbourne started to feed Isaac Humphries down low and the big man began to make his presence felt.

A Chris Goulding steal resulted in a strong David Okwera and-one, and scores were tied up once again with two minutes to go in the second quarter. However, a few quick Cairns buckets to end the half had the Taipans up by 8 points going into the main break.

The second half did not start to plan for United, with a growing turnover count helping the Taipans to get out to a 26-point lead.

A buzzer-beater to Ben Ayre helped Cairns to finish off a punishing quarter, with the Taipans out-scoring United 30-10. Trailing by 28 points with one quarter to play, the visitors had their work cut out for them.

The difference proved too great for United, with the visiting team eventually going down to the Taipans by 25 points, 97-72. It ended a disappointing night for Melbourne, who struggled with poor shooting and 20 turnovers.

Melbourne United will have to turn things around quickly as they now head back home to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the first Throwdown of NBL23 at 4pm on Sunday November 6 at John Cain Arena.

The highly anticipated rivalry match up will also showcase Melbourne United’s Multicultural Game, with the team wearing their unique uniforms that highlight the diversity and cultures within both the team and city. Tickets to this blockbuster are now completely sold out, however fans have the chance to win the last four seats at John Cain Arena on Sunday by clicking HERE.

Fans who are lucky enough to already have a ticket are encouraged to arrive early due to traffic and congestion anticipated to be higher than usual. Melbourne United’s Multicultural Festival is free to enter and will be running from 2pm on the John Cain Arena oval outside of the western entry.