Taipans back "unbelieveable" group

It was a weekend to forget for the Cairns Taipans during Round 4 of the Hungry Jack's NBL26 season.

They first lost a game they had every chance to win against Perth on Friday, before suffering a heavy defeat to Melbourne United on Sunday.

Despite the disappointing performances, which have seen Adam Forde's side drop 2-4 on the season, the playing group still have the utmost confidence in what they can achieve during the 2025-26 campaign.

"We do have an unbelievable group and we're very good friends," Taipans guard Kyle Adnam said during Sunday's post-game press conference.

"Everyone gets along unbelievably and I think now it's probably around this accountability piece, looking at each other and be able to have some of those tough conversations like 'hey you know this isn't going well, I need you to adjust here and things like that'.

"That's what we've been doing this week and we'll continue to do moving forward.

"We've had our moments as a group, great moments I'd like to add as well and they're the moments we need to tap into.

"When we had our great moments, what were we doing? And we just got to repeat that, I think it's as simple as that."

Coach Forde agrees, stating the Taipans' performances are to do with the players not handling the 'stress' of the game, rather than their talent.

"I said to the guys, you're in a fishbowl and everybody's looking in and you know that fishbowl gives a distorted view," Forde said.

"That's a burden some guys can navigate and get through, but some tighten up.

"There almost has to be a sense of playing fearless [and] just living with the result.

"Play hard and as the saying goes, the sun's going to rise [and] your family's going to love you.

"You [have] responsibilities in life and this should be an outlet that we get to play a game where, for 40 minutes or for a two hour time-slot, you don't have to worry about any of that, you just go play basketball.

"Sometimes we got to be reminded of that and we take things too seriously. It's a work in progress, but the big thing is the guys have always responded and I expect them to respond this week and we'll move forward."