The Breakers have been forced to settle for second and will almost certainly now have to plot the downfall of a team on a nine-game winning run.
Cairns clinched top spot in the Australian NBL with an 88-71 victory at Vector Arena this afternoon, leaving the Breakers narrowly short of achieving their first goal of an impressive bounce-back campaign.
The Kiwi club won't be too worried about missing the minor premiership if they can claim the ultimate prize but, ahead of the semifinals, that's a big if.
By beating Perth on Friday, the red-hot Adelaide extended to nine their winning run and virtually locked up third spot ahead of the Wildcats. The 36ers still have to take care of business this evening against last-placed Wollongong but, if their streak swells to 10, they can then prepare for a probable Thursday night trip to Auckland.
The Breakers were the last side to defeat Adelaide, winning on their floor at the start of January, but the 36ers have recent history of triumphing at Vector Arena, having done just that a fortnight ago. And the Breakers hardly appear in title-winning form, losing four of their last six down the stretch, although three of those defeats came after clinching a place in the top two.
To seal top spot today they needed to win by 26 and, once the game began, it immediately became clear that was never going to happen. But the 7000-strong crowd were still treated to a tight pre-playoff tussle.
A 17-point third quarter from Scottie Wilbekin, part of 25 overall, eventually proved the difference, while Ekene Ibekwe (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Corey Webster (16 points) were the best of the Breakers.
The teams headed to the half tied by 40 after two periods that featured no fewer than eight lead changes, with neither side managing to break free from the other's grasp.
Cairns' six-point advantage in the opening quarter was as good as it got, with Alex Loughton starting strongly and leading all scorers with 14 at the major break. The Breakers' defence was a little loose at first, giving up too many unchallenged shots, but they increased their physicality as the half progressed and bossed the boards at both ends of the floor.
The Breakers edged slightly ahead in a slow start to the second half but they were doing a poor job of spreading around the ball, accruing just three assists as a team by midway through the third period.
They were soon given a lesson in finding the open man when Wilbekin drained back-to-back triples, starting a run of 11 straight points for the dangerous guard and swinging the game back in Cairns' favour.
Wilbekin's third-quarter outburst saw the Breakers trailing by six heading into the fourth but, with both offences cooling off since halftime, no deficit was insurmountable. A 7-0 run reduced the deficit at one with a minute to play, before a technical foul on Cedric Jackson allowed Cairns to close out the game.
Breakers 71 (Ibekwe 17, Webster 16, Jackson 12), Taipans 81 (Wilbekin 25, Loughton 22, Gliddon 13). HT: 40-40.
Kris Shannon of the NZME. News Service
