Forde: December 6 could flip the script

Adam Forde was proud of the Cairns Taipans' second half fight and is eagerly awaiting the returns of Sam Waardenburg and Reyne Smith. He hopes the team can hang on until the FIBA break, with both players expected to be available by December 6.

The Taipans looked headed for a seventh loss by more than 25 points this season when they trailed South East Melbourne by 25 at half-time. They responded with far more resistance after the break, outscoring the Phoenix 51 to 37 in front of their home fans.

Forde felt the opening half showed just how much the team misses having a second genuine ball-handler. Without Smith available to support Andrew Andrews, the Phoenix pressure caused problems early. The Taipans also lacked their usual presence up front without Waardenburg, something that again became clear just as it had the previous Friday.

Forde cannot wait to have both players back, although their return will only come after Cairns plays Adelaide and New Zealand and then move through the FIBA break.

"It's a good group and this is why I feel confident that after the FIBA break when we've got everybody back, and we virtually will have everybody back December 6, f*** it, let's go for a swing right," Forde said.

Forde admitted he would have preferred to have more wins by this stage of the season, but remains focused on what the Taipans can still achieve.

"Would I have loved to have a couple more wins under our belt? Sure, but we don't have that luxury, so are we just going to talk about what could have been or do we make a legitimate run at it. There's no reason why we can't come December 6 when everybody's here, let's go, but we have two more games until then and I just need to keep getting this fight from the group. I have no doubt they will rise to the occasion."

While Forde admired the competitiveness his side showed in the second half to avoid another heavy defeat, he knows the challenge will only grow tougher when they head to Adelaide on Sunday.

He hopes the Taipans can bring the same level of fight they displayed on Friday night.

"They gave a response and yep, turnovers suck especially unforced ones, but it could have easily swung the other way and we lose by 30, 40, 50 again," Forde said.

"We sit here and we talk about the extra help that we need, and we're definitely not going to get that in the next week or two so our recovery is going to be big and the boys are going to do the best they can to roll into a tough venue.

"That's the message, we don't want to roll over, we don't want to have an excuse of why we should be defeated before the game even starts. I'll back the dudes that wanna fight and compete.

"Everything we do is good so I don’t fear that we aren’t going to show that spirit, but we just need to make sure we've got some bodies right who are playing through some stuff, and that we keep going for at least two more games."