DrinkWise game preview - Round 12: Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans

The Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking overtime loss to ladder leader Melbourne United at John Cain Arena on Saturday.

Superstar Bryce Cotton, who spent the entire 45 minutes on the court against United, scoring a game-high 36 points, said post-game the focus needed the switch quickly onto facing the Taipans on their home turf at Cairns Convention Centre.

“I condition my body to be able to handle this type of intensity,” Cotton said.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel, we’re coming towards the latter part of the season now and everything is about winning.

“I’m not a moral victory kind of person so as much as we talked about how good we played or how many minutes I’ve got to play, none of that matters because we lost.

“We’ve just got to move onto the next game and try to bounce back against Cairns.”

Cotton, who was seen grabbing onto his left shoulder late in the game, said he was “fine”.

“I just got a couple of knocks, I had some good screens on me, but as always I bounce back. I’m fine,” he said.

Head coach John Rillie said he had plenty of belief in his team, who have the chance to jump back to third on the ladder with a win in Far North Queensland.

“I believe in this team. The way we played doesn’t surprise me. That’s Perth Wildcats basketball,” he said.

“There’s small differences. They (Melbourne United) won two of them and we won one of them. I don’t care what the rest of the people think, I just care what I think and I like my team. I think we’re very well matched against anyone, let alone Melbourne United.”

The game will be former Taipan Keanu Pinder's first in Cairns since crossing to the Wildcats during the off-season.

Veteran guard Corey Webster has been ruled out due to ankle soreness.

Game Details

Who: Perth Wildcats vs Cairns Taipans

When: 4.30pm WST Tuesday 26 December

Where: Cairns Convention Centre

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel

Opposition watch

Cairns are only one win behind the Wildcats after back-to-back wins over Brisbane and South East Melbourne.

Import Patrick Miller is averaging a team-high 19 points and six assists, while Sam Waardenburg has been in good touch.

The Taipans ended a three-game home losing run on Friday night, defeating the Phoenix 94-75 with Waardenburg amassing a team-high 20 points to go with six rebounds.

Last time they met

The Wildcats prevailed 88-80 over the Taipans at RAC Arena last month in the midst of their six-game winning streak.

MVP candidate Bryce Cotton dropped a game-high 25 points, with Tai Webster (12 points), Alex Sarr (12), Jordan Usher (10) and Kristian Doolittle (10) also reaching double digits.

Doolittle fell two rebounds shy of a double-double in an impressive display.