Melbourne United sneak home against the Snakes

Melbourne United and the Cairns Taipans played out an absolute nail-biter on Monday night at the Cairns Pop Up Arena, and it was United who took the chocolates in a game decided on the final shot.

With both teams boasting stars across the board, it was a back-and-forth battle that lived up to the hype.

United got off to a blistering start, thanks largely to Chris Goulding draining his first four three-point attempts.

While Goulding was hitting shots and Scotty Hopson found his groove, Cairns star big man Cam Oliver found himself in foul trouble early and had to sit with two fouls in the first 40 seconds. United took advantage and held a 21-13 lead halfway through the first quarter.

When Sam McDaniel – who made his season debut after recovering from a hand injury – hit a triple with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter, Melbourne boasted an 11-point lead, 26-15.

It was United’s shooting that was the main factor in them holding an eight-point lead, 29-21, at the first break with the team shooting an incredible 7/8 from deep.

The second quarter started with another Goulding triple, while Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. began to get busy with key rebounds and buckets. Melbourne’s 14-point lead quickly evaporated though as Mirko Djeric and Oliver led a furious Cairns 12-0 run to see the home team trail by just two points halfway through the term.

When United required a lift it was Jock Landale who answered the call with back-to-back triples to give his side some breathing room. At the main break, Melbourne held a 51-45 lead with Landale (14 points and 6 rebounds) and Goulding (12 points) leading the way. Oliver (11 points and 5 rebounds) and Kouat Noi (9 points) were keeping the scoreboard ticking over for Cairns.

The Taipans gained the early momentum in the third quarter and tied the scores at 53-all when Oliver drained a pair of free throws after two and a half minutes of play.

The big man pairing of Landale and Jack White provided highlights with alley-oops, dunks and triples, but Noi ensured the Taipans remained within touch. Lual-Acuil Jr.’s fever pitch energy on both ends of the court gave Melbourne second chance point opportunities and at the final break, he had 7 points and 10 rebounds with United leading 69-62.

Landale’s versatility was on full display all game long and that was no different in the fourth quarter. He was everywhere on the court; creating shots for himself and others, grabbing rebounds and playing stifling defence on guards and bigs.

United’s defence, led by the likes of Landale and Shea Ili, was suffocating through the early stages of the fourth quarter, and they cashed in on the other end of the court to hold an 11-point lead with 5:40 remaining.

By Scott Machado’s lofty standards, he’d had a quiet night up until this point, but he willed the Taipans back into the game.

He scored seven unanswered points to drag Cairns back to within four points with just over two minutes remaining.

Hopson and White answered on the other end for United, but the Taipans wouldn’t go away as Djeric drained a triple with 34 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

White stepped to the line with six seconds on the clock and made one of two free throws, extending Melbourne’s lead to two points. Machado took the ball the length of the floor as the clock wound down, but missed what would’ve been a game-winning triple on the buzzer and United came away with a hard-fought 87-85 win.

Landale (19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks) was simply superb, while Goulding (17 points), White (12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals), Lual-Acuil Jr. (7 points and 11 rebounds) and Yudai Baba (10 points) all played key roles.

Machado (19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds) top-scored for Cairns, Oliver (17 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals) finished with a double-double, while Noi (17 points) and Djeric (13 points) were also impressive.

Melbourne’s bench once again shone bright after a great start to the season in Adelaide, outscoring Cairns 27-11 in that department.

United now moves to 2-0 on the season, with Throwdown V against South East Melbourne up next on Sunday (January 31) in Bendigo.

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