Wildcats come from behind to defeat Cairns at Blitz

The Wildcats made it eight wins from as many starts, including all three at the NBL Blitz tournament on the Gold Coast, in a positive sign ahead of NBL25.

There was an even spread of contributors with Tai Webster, one of four players to reach double digits, providing a third-quarter spark on the way to 16 points and five assists in a see-sawing content which was delayed by a fire evacuation.

Next Star Izan Almansa (15 points and eight rebounds) was enormous in the paint, falling two rebounds short of a double-double to cap off a massive pre-season.

The outside shooting and defensive prowess of Elijah Pepper (15 points) and Michael Harris (13) was also vital in the comeback, with the pair combining for five triples.

Webster returned from illness and made an instant impact, scoring the Wildcats’ first four points of the match.

Fellow guard Ben Henshall got his second starting opportunity in a row and fourth of the pre-season, with superstar Bryce Cotton (thumb) sitting out.

Former NBA star Dylan Windler came off the bench midway through the opening term for his second appearance as a Wildcat.

After trailing 17-4, Perth made inroads before quarter-time, capped off by a buzzer-beating corner triple from Michael Harris which made the score 22-13.

Windler showed what he’s capable at both ends of the floor in the second term, fighting hard for a defensive rebound before hitting a clutch three in the same passage of play.

Back-to-back threes from Elijah Pepper with four minutes left in the half helped shift the momentum in the Wildcats’ favour.

But it was Cairns with a 41-32 lead at half-time.

Windler and Henshall gave Perth the perfect start to the second half, cutting the deficit back to five points with back-to-back buckets, with the latter thanks to a steal.

Keanu Pinder brought the house down with a massive one-handed dunk on the break, followed by a Webster layup.

An evacuation due to a smoke alarm going off, with the scores at 49-40 in favour of Cairns, saw the game delayed for several minutes early in the third.

The Wildcats scored the first five points after the resumption to storm back into the match with Hyrum Harris doing his bit at both ends.

Webster was also in everything, getting the Wildcats to within touching distance before Pepper’s late triple gave his team a 63-61 lead at the final change.

Michael Harris produced a team-lifting six-point play early in the last, knocking back a three before a steal and layup on the break and a resulting and-one.

From there it was relatively smooth sailing as Almansa, Webster and Pepper helped guide the Wildcats home.

The Wildcats kick off their regular season campaign against South-East Melbourne Phoenix at the inaugural HoopsFest at RAC Arena on Friday 20 September.