Heartland Hustle: Road Trip to GRISS for Phoenix to take on Taipans

Back in Victoria for their first home game in more than a month, South East Melbourne are taking their exciting brand of basketball regional, with a special game in Traralgon.

Recently redeveloped to the tune of $19 million, the 3000-seat Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium will host the Phoenix clash with Cairns Taipans.

Phoenix got their season back on track with a big win over the Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday and will be primed for the clash with a Taipans side that has not seen an NBL court since December 21, due to Covid issues.

(Phoenix will play the first in-season NBL game at GRISS against the Taipans.)

Here’s a look at what to expect when the Phoenix go country.

Key Details

South East Melbourne Phoenix v Cairns Taipans

Where: Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS)

When: Tuesday 25 January, 7:30pm AEDT

Watch on ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel

The Teams

Phoenix

The boys put a Brisbane debacle in the rear-view mirror with a dominant third quarter explosion against the JackJumpers in a 76-63 win. Thirty-two of those points came in the Q3 as Mitch Creek (19 points) and Zhou Qi (18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) put on the afterburners. New import Brandon Ashley made an immediate impact with 11 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench and he will only get better as he get more comfortable with the team. 

The only change will be Izayah Le'afa, who will miss the game due to Covid protocols with Lachlan Barker as the nominated replacement player taking his place. 

Taipans

It’s been a tough run for the Taipans, whose Covid issues have kept them off the floor for 25 days. They step back out against the Phoenix for the first time this season and are set to welcome back gun import Tahjere McCall, who will be familiar with Creek as the two were teammates with the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League. Scott Machado will not be available as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. The Taipans will also be without Mirko Djeric (calf) and Kouat Noi (not passig fitness). Fitness will be the biggest question mark for the Taipans, given their lengthy absence from competitive basketball.

Players to Watch

Xavier Munford v Tahjere McCall

Two of the NBL’s premier playmakers will set the table for their respective teams. McCall has been thrust into point guard duties with the injury to Machado and he’s taken to it with aplomb, while Munford has had some big scoring explosions, while getting his teammates involved. The two imports can take over games and are set to have a big say in who wins this contest.

(The last time the two sides met was in round 20 in NBL21 where the Taipans just got the win.)

The History

Regular season Head-to-Head: 4 – 3
South East Melbourne Phoenix - Cairns Taipans  

Last time out: Rd 20, NBL20/21

Phoenix 87-94 Taipans

Phoenix

Y Wetzell: 25 points, 8 rebounds

M Creek: 13 points, 6 assists

K Sykes: 12 points, 7 assists

R Broekhoff: 9 points, 6 steals

Taipans

M Deng: 22 points

M Djeric: 16 points

N Jawai: 11 rebounds, 5 assists

Last 5

Phoenix: WWLLW

Taipans: LWWL

(Mitch Creek is looking forward in bringing Phoenix basketball regional.)

The Stats

Phoenix

Points: M Creek, 22.4ppg (#2 in the NBL)

Rebounds: Z Qi, 7.2rpg

Assists: X Munford, 4.6apg

Blocks: Z Qi, 3.8bpg (#1 in the NBL)

Steals: R Broekhoff, 1.2spg

Taipans

Points: T McCall, 16.3ppg

Rebounds: S Zimmerman, 11rpg

Assists: T McCall, 6apg

Blocks: K Pinder, 1.25bpg

Steals: M Deng, 1.5spg

The two sides were meant to meet in round 6 but was postponed due to Covid-19 protocols. Phoenix were able to shake off the rust in Sunday’s game against the JackJumpers with slowly coming back to form after half time and taking out the win by 13-points.

The Taipans will be hoping not to replicate other teams after a long break in-between games similar to Phoenix in Round 7 and will be wanting to come out firing to re-start their season.

(Reuben Te Rangi going for a lay-up against the Taipans the last time Phoenix faced them.)

The Quote

“I love that the club is putting a lot of time into the country and rural areas, we want them to feel a part of the Phoenix family. (The Taipans have) a lot of very aggressive offensive targets, who put their head down, get on the rim and score the ball. It means there’s going to be a lot of long rebounds, so we’ve got to box out, keep them to one shot and then try to keep Taj (McCall) out of the paint.”
- Mitch Creek on playing in Traralgon and facing the Taipans

“What’s fortunate for us is that we’re almost the last team to get it. So, we’ve actually seen how other teams come back from a 21, 22-day hiatus, and I think the common theme has been sluggish starts. We’ve been talking with some other teams about what their preparation was, and what works and what doesn’t work and recognising that it’s probably more to do with the fitness side of it than the basketball.”
- Cairns coach Adam Forde on the challenges the Taipans face coming off a Covid-enforced layoff.

Limited seats are still available for the game, CLICK HERE to secure your seat!

Phoenix Media (25/1/22)