NBL27 Match Recap - Preseason v Cairns Taipans

Melbourne United have collected a second win of the preseason, taking down the Cairns Taipans in front of a sold out Casey Stadium on Saturday evening.

Playing in his first game in United colours, Cole Anthony wasted no time showing exactly what he’s capable of, splashing a deep triple on the game's first possession.

The American guard was at the centre of everything for Melbourne, rising up for a midrange jumper and connecting on a second three before feeding Fabijan Krslovic for a look at the rim leading to free throws and Joe Ingles for a corner three-ball.

This helped United open up a 14-6 advantage, which Development Players Christian D’Angelo and Jensen Bradtke built on with scores at the rim.

Training Player Corey Hastings got in on the action, knocking down his look from beyond the arc, opening up space inside for Chris Goulding to finish through contact for an and-one.

Two free throws from Josh Oduro kept United’s lead in double digits, with the home side in front 26-15.

To start the second, Krslovic kickstarted a 7-0 Melbourne run with a floater, before an Anthony middy and Ingles three-ball had the lead out to 18 points.

Cairns was able to put together a 10-0 run to answer this, however some strong work on the offensive glass from Kyle Bowen put a stop to that, as he secured the extra possession and found Krslovic for another basket.

Layups from D’Angelo and Oduro helped Melbourne match the Taipans, who seemed to find a scoring rhythm, however a long-range barrage from the latter, as well as Ingles and Anthony kept United in control.

The two imports connected one final time in the first half, with Anthony feeding the big man for a buzzer-beating eurostep basket, allowing Melbourne to extend their lead to 57-43.

Coming out of the major break, Odoru continued to dominate, swatting a shot at the rim and running the floor to finish a two-handed jam.

He followed this up by skying over his defender to grab an offensive rebound and feeding D’Angelo for a layup.

United were able to build on their half time lead across the third, with Goulding knocking down a three through contact, Ingles getting to the hoop for an and-one, and Anthony connecting from deep again off the dribble.

This put Melbourne up 84-68 with one period to go.

Looking to put the icing on the cake, United finished strong.

Krslovic scored plus the foul, Goulding spun away from a defender to get inside for a bucket, and Anthony brought his tally up to 27 points with a flurry of late scores.

Back to back three balls from D’Angelo, who had 18 points of his own, ultimately sealed the deal, giving Melbourne a 113-97 victory.

Melbourne United will next take to the floor at the NBL Blitz in Bendigo, where they will face off against the Perth Wildcats and Illawarra Hawks.

Box score available here