We can't just be a one-trick pony—get a win and lose four or five in a row
In sport, as in life, the most revealing moments often arrive when the expected script is torn up entirely. On a Saturday night in Wollongong, the last-placed Cairns Taipans — missing their finest player, who had stayed home to welcome a newborn child — walked into the defending champions' arena and dismantled them by 17 points. The result reminds us that standing is not the same as strength, and that belief, however briefly held, can reshape what a team thinks is possible.
- Cairns entered the game having lost eleven of their last twelve, without their star player, and with almost no one expecting them to compete.
- A dominant second quarter — built on suffocating rebounding and sharp three-point shooting — turned a level game into a 15-point halftime blowout that silenced the home crowd.
- Illawarra fought back in the third quarter, cutting the lead to six late in the fourth and threatening to reclaim the night they had seemed to lose.
- Andrews steadied Cairns when the margin tightened, and the Taipans held on for a final 93-76 victory that stands as one of the season's most striking results.
- Andrews himself was careful not to let the win become a ceiling, warning his team that one upset means nothing without the consistency to follow it.
The Cairns Taipans arrived at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night as one of the NBL's most troubled sides — sitting last with a 4-12 record, having lost eleven of their previous twelve games, and without Jack McVeigh, their best player, who had remained home in Cairns for the birth of his child. What followed was one of the season's most unexpected results.
Andrew Andrews carried the visitors with 27 points and six assists, hitting five threes and setting the tone throughout. Admiral Schofield contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyrin Galloway posted 16 points and 14 rebounds. After a balanced first quarter, Cairns seized control in the second through relentless rebounding — grabbing 26 boards to Illawarra's 13 in the first half, including an 8-1 advantage on the offensive glass — and led 49-34 at the break.
Illawarra, the defending champions, refused to fold. Daniel Grida scored 12 quick points in the third quarter to cut the margin to 15, and JaVale McGee added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the home side. With the lead down to six midway through the fourth, the upset briefly felt fragile. Andrews steadied Cairns, and they closed out a 93-76 win.
Afterward, Andrews was deliberately measured. He acknowledged the significance of showing up without McVeigh, and recognised how much the absent star had wanted to be there. But he was clear that one win could not paper over a difficult season — the team needed to stop cycling through victories and losses, and start building something sustained. For Cairns, the night offered a rare commodity: belief. Whether it holds will matter far more than the result itself.
The Cairns Taipans walked into the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night as one of the league's worst teams—they'd lost eleven of their last twelve games and were missing their best player. Jack McVeigh had stayed home in Cairns for the birth of his child. Nobody expected what happened next.
Andrew Andrews scored 27 points, five of them from three-point range, to lead Cairns to a 93-76 victory over Illawarra, the defending NBL champions. It was one of the season's most stunning upsets. Admiral Schofield finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kyrin Galloway added 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Taipans, sitting in last place with a 4-12 record, had just dismantled a team that won the championship last year.
The game was even at 20-20 after the first quarter, but Cairns took control in the second. Andrews and Galloway were hitting from distance. The visitors' rebounding was suffocating—they grabbed 26 boards to Illawarra's 13 in the first half alone, and they were winning the offensive rebound battle 8-1. By halftime, Cairns led 49-34, and the home crowd had gone quiet.
Illawarra clawed back in the third quarter. Daniel Grida, who finished as the Hawks' leading scorer with a career-high 18 points, poured in 12 quick points to cut the margin to 15. JaVale McGee added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the home side. Quentin Peterson, who had dropped 42 points in Illawarra's overtime win two days earlier against South East Melbourne, managed just seven points this time.
The lead shrank to six points midway through the fourth quarter, and for a moment it felt like the upset might slip away. But Andrews steadied the ship, and Cairns held on. When it was over, the visitors had won by 17.
After the match, Andrews was measured about what the win meant. He told ESPN it was a start, nothing more. The team had dug itself into a deep hole, he said, and one victory didn't change that. He acknowledged that McVeigh had wanted to be there, that the team knew how much it mattered to him, and that showing up without him was important. But Andrews was clear: they couldn't be a one-trick pony, winning one game and then losing four or five in a row. They had to keep building.
For Cairns, the win provided something they'd been short on—belief. For Illawarra, now 5-10, it meant more work ahead if they wanted to make the finals. The upset had happened. What came next would determine whether it meant anything at all.
Citas Notables
It's a start. We dug ourselves in a hole. We can't get too high. We can't just be a one-trick pony—get a win and go and lose four or five in a row.— Andrew Andrews, Cairns guard
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How does a team that's lost eleven of twelve games walk into a championship team's house and blow them out by 17?
They had nothing to lose and everything to prove. Cairns came in desperate. And they executed—the rebounding was the story. They won the glass so completely in the first half that Illawarra never got into rhythm.
Was McVeigh's absence actually a factor, or is that just the narrative people want?
It's real. McVeigh is their star. But Andrews and the role players stepped up. Sometimes when your best player can't go for a good reason, the team rallies differently. There's no resentment, just purpose.
Andrews said "it's a start." That's an interesting thing to say after a 17-point road win.
He's right to be cautious. Last place is last place for a reason. One win doesn't fix the structural problems. He knows they need consistency, not moments.
What about Grida's performance for Illawarra? Career-high 18 points—did he keep them in it?
He tried. He had a hot stretch in the third that made it feel like they might get back in. But it wasn't enough. Peterson was invisible after his 42-point game two days prior. That's the thing about upsets—sometimes the other team just doesn't show up.
Does this win change Cairns' season trajectory?
Only if they build on it. Andrews was explicit about that. One win is a story. A pattern of wins is a turnaround. They're still 4-12. They're still in last. But at least now they know they can beat anyone on any night.