How to watch & talking points: Adelaide v Cairns

24 Dec 2025

adelaide 36ers

cairns taipans

League-leaders Adelaide will host a reenergised Cairns Taipans during an Ignite Cup blockbuster on Christmas Eve.

Adelaide 36ers v Cairns Taipans
Wednesday, December 24, 5.30pm AEDT
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

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Talking points

Will Cairns show up?
During last round, Taipans fans got the full experience of what it’s been like to watch their team in recent seasons.

Firstly, they come together on their home floor and dominate the New Zealand Breakers, behind a massive 47-point game from Jack McVeigh.

It was enough to have fans optimistic about the rest of the season. However, just two days later and the team was handed a 42-point defeat in Sydney and fans are left scratching their heads.

What Taipans team will show up here?

Merry Brycemas?
Strap yourselves in, because this could be yet another big performance from Bryce Cotton against Cairns.

The five-time MVP has a career average of over 25 points per game against the Taipans, after he revealed on an NBL Now last season that playing in Cairns is his favourite road trip on the calendar.

Cotton has already had a 53-point game this season against them and 41 more recently. He averages 38 a game across his past six against the Taipans.

What does he have in store for us this Christmas eve?

What they're saying

36ers coach Mike Wells on playing at home on Christmas Eve:
“To be seven and two on the road, 15 and four (overall), you know, it's a credit to them and the work, and their commitment to each other.

“We'll take a little breath here [after this win in Wollongong].

"We're going to go home, we're gonna try to recuperate and see if we can make the Adelaide Entertainment Centre really happy on Christmas Eve.”

Taipans star Jack McVeigh on continuing to evolve as a player:
“I’ve been working on my bag for as long as I can remember.

“For the majority of my career I have been a play finisher. I will either run into on-ball [screens] or get plays run for me with three seconds left on the shot clock.

"I came here [to Cairns] and the amount of reps I get in training and in the game helps me improve at such a rapid rate, when I put in those hours of work.

"Every day I feel like I’m getting better at basketball, faster than I ever have. I get to come out here tonight and just get more reps to get even better.”