The Sydney Kings raced to the top of the NBL ladder with an 81-70 road victory over the Cairns Taipans after another solid performance from superstar centre Andrew Bogut and pocket-rocket Jerome Randle.
Andrew Bogut continued his spell-binding all around brilliance with a 10 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal in 30 minutes to lead Sydney to their fifth-straight victory of the season.
Bogut’s statistics may not look staggering but all the other intangibles and leadership that he carries is a reflection of the inspired team play that has pushed them to the top.
He’s currently averaging 11.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3 blocks on 59% field goal shooting in just a tick under 30 minutes of court time. More importantly, he has remained injury-free and we hope it stays that way.
Sydney’s successive wins now tie their best winning streak since they returned to the NBL back in 2010/2011. It is a remarkable turnaround for the popular ball club after suffering two straight losing seasons under Head Coach Andrew Gaze.
The Kings received good support from Daniel Kickert and Brad Newley with 13 points apiece, while captain Kevin Lisch added 11. The Taipans were led by Melo Trimble with 14 points and 7 assists and Kuany Kuany with 10 points.
“We’ve hit our stride a little bit,” Daniel Kickert said afterwards.
“Road games have been important for us. We’re trying to protect our home, but sneaking these wins on the road is really important.”
“We’re trying to have a good Christmas and we want to finish out the weekend very well.”
The big win sets up a blockbuster rematch between the Kings and defending champion Melbourne United at Qudos Bank Arena this Sunday. A new rivalry could be revived between two of the biggest cities in the country.
Marco Selorio is a serial entrepreneur, basketball writer, Master of Ceremonies, event director and promoter. Follow him on Facebook @marcoandreselorio and on Instagram @marcoselorio
