Cats lick wounds after Taipans bite
Perth Wildcats surrendered second spot on the ladder and are unlikely to see Earnest Ross again this season after a brutal 15-point loss to Cairns Taipans tonight.
Coming off the bench, Ross lasted less than 30 seconds before being carried into the changerooms with a right Achilles injury.
Coach Trevor Gleeson said the injury is likely to end the guard’s season.
It was the second blow suffered by the defending champions this week, with star big man Matt Knight expected to miss up to six weeks after fracturing the big toe on his left foot in training.
Against the odds, the Wildcats were able to erase an early 14-point deficit to lead by two points going into the final term at the Cairns Convention Centre.
But with Shawn Redhage fouled out early in the fourth quarter and Jermaine Beale suffering severe cramp in his calf, the Taipans pounced to claim a 91-76 victory.
Taipans guards Torrey Craig (20 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (16) did most of the damage, combining to shoot at 7-10 from beyond the arc.
DeAndre Daniels and back-up big man Tom Jervis were the Wildcats’ equal highest scorers with 17 points each.
The result saw the Taipans leapfrog the Wildcats into second spot on the NBL ladder.
The Wildcats retain a reasonable buffer over fourth-placed Melbourne United.
Gleeson said he hoped to have Greg Hire (calf) back for Friday’s game against Adelaide 36ers at Perth Arena, but could also look at bringing in an uncontracted player to plug some holes.
Hire will have a fitness test at training early in the week.
“It’s been one of those periods of time, when it rains it pours,” Gleeson said.
“First and foremost we’ll be happy to get Greg back.
“Greg was a big part of our championship push last year, he’s played one game this year and he’s missed, what, 17 games now?
“We’re hopeful that he’ll get through practice and he’ll be ready to slot straight in.
“Then obviously we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and see who we can bring in for Matty and Earnest.”
Wildcats captain Damian Martin said injuries couldn’t be an excuse to tail off ahead of a challenging month.
“We definitely missed Matty tonight, especially with his rebounding presence, his physicality,” he said.
“But in saying that, we don’t know how long he’s out for so everybody’s got to step up.
“It can’t be a matter of making excuses.”
Martin said the team needed to be better late after letting the final score blow out.
“You work so hard to get back in the game and that’s frustrating, disappointing and pretty angry with how we finished the game,” he said.
“The anger is from losing and not stepping up where it mattered.”
