"We lost the game in 5 minutes." Jacob Chance says Melbourne United's group to start the fourth quarter "was disappointing. We'll have to go back and look at why." Up 12 late in the third, they were outscored by 14 over four minutes and conceded 35 in the fourth.
Same starting five for the Cairns Taipans, even though Adam Forde had said a change needed to happen. His reason: "they had a great practice... I trust them to start again." He owned his errors against New Zealand: "we went to a middle-long ball team and that's not our style."
Cairns Taipans were without Shaun Bruce; Adam Forde gave no timeline. Jaylon Brown, Reyne Smith and Malique Lewis covered point guard. Luke Paul is "penciled in for the 8th" but building confidence in his ankle; Forde hopes for 5-8 minutes, depending on Bruce's timeline.
Jack McVeigh can move to small forward beside Jonah Bolden, said Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde, who called Bolden his best rebounder this season. McVeigh also challenged Forde at the airport to stick to the preseason identity. His reply: "oh, you're 100% right."