Isaac
Years ago
Crocs vs Cairns, Dec 2
The Townsville Crocodiles defeated the Cairns Taipans 73-64 in the North Queensland derby at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night.(I think they meant "four" quarters there at the end unless there's some expression "playing for quarters" that I'm not aware of.)
Corey Williams (22) lead the way with Russel Hinder (12) and Michael Cedar (9) in support for the homeside which was in control except for briefly in the third quarter.
Julien "Skip" Mills (22) was the only threat while Dusty Rychart (13) and Rich Melzer (11) leant a hand for the visitors who paid the price for not playing for quarters.
One interesting moment of note, going by articles up in Townsville, saw a radio presenter start singing the national anthem during the pre-game ceremony, in protest of the NBL pushing to can the anthem at non-international games. Apparently most of the 3500ish in attendance joined in.
The Townsville Bulletin has an article slamming the league for its lack of patriotism, noting the lump in the throat one gets when an Australian succeed on the world stage.
Which might be a good point if we weren't talking about Cairns @ Townsville - not quite the world stage. And most of the two teams are Australians anyway.
Are any Adelaide fans particularly unimpressed with the lack of anthem at NBL games?
Back to the game itself, the win sees Townsville become the first team this season to reach eight wins, but their W-L record sees them in sixth place on the ladder. If the Hawks win in NZ tonight, they'll be outright top. If the Breakers win, they'll move past the Blaze for fourth. Adelaide can't be knocked from third spot by tonight's result.
