Basketball On The Internet.

OK, got a confession to make. Did not look deeply enough into Adam Forde's Cairns Taipans roster or expect Taran Armstrong to be so good so quickly. On the flip side of a happy discovery, WTF was the NBL thinking cutting away from the thrilling Illawarra-Adelaide finish to bring us Sydney-Brisbane preview drivel? 

There's just over a minute to play in the best match of the round to that point, one point the difference, and the coverage crosses to Derek Rucker and Ariana Prather talking the usual type of time-to-tune-out mostly redundant speculation of what is to come in the imminent clash between a genuine championship contender and a likely wooden spooner.

Rivetting.

Tyler Harvey has just hit a massive threeball for Illawarra, then Kendric Davis has cancelled it with a 3-point bomb of his own, the teams heading into time-out huddles with 1:16 left and the score 100-101 to Adelaide.

Like, honestly, who gives even a remote toss about Kings-Bullets at this point?

OK, we all understand they want to plug the next game but what's that on the small screen to the left? Players from the Hawks-36ers are back on the floor! But the main focus still is on these two talking heads? 

Illawarra is advancing the ball, Trey Kell is going to the hoop ... and the focus is STILL on the cheese being churned by Ariana and Derek?

OMG, are you kidding us?

This BS babble is more important than the live action?

Kell has driven into the key and is now on the floor over the baseline, as best we can make out on the small screen because these two are STILL talking.

I know the NBL likes to have a Looney Tunes round but who's in charge of this broadcast, Pepe Le Pew? Because that shite absolutely stinks.

The clowns in the control booth still consistently miss live action due to unnecessary "plug-the-replay-sponsor" replays, crowd shots and close-ups but this, in the tense final heartbeats of the only decent NBL game of the round to that point - and with another rich brown stinker to follow at Boondall - took lack-of-any common sense to a new level of futility.

It was a sparkling game too, showing that Adelaide is for real, that its narrow loss to Sydney - already a contender scalped by these Hawks - and quality win over a bumbling South East Melbourne, were glimpses of a team definitely making its first playoff run since the golden days of Joey Wright's reign.

Even the 36ers' road loss in Cairns was no real cause for concern because the Taipans are for real too, as this round proved when they claimed the scalps of the defending champion Tasmania JackJumpers and their 2024 runners-up Melbourne United.

That's a pretty good weekend round, most would suggest.

Brisbane's long-awaited return to Boondall Entertainment Centre, where legends such as Leroy Loggins and Cal Bruton plied their trade under Bullets icon Brian Kerle, allegedly attracted more than 7,000 fans and former fans.

Casey Prather opened proceedings with a driving throwndown slam through traffic and from there, Justin Schueller's undisciplined rabble slipped behind Sydney by as many as 29 points.

When Xavier Cooks is going 2-of-2 behind the 3-point line and new cult hero Keli Leaupepe is delivering 22 points at almost 70 per cent, you know the Kings are simply having a practice run ... and a lot of fun.

The Bullets continue to serve up token road-cone defence and over-dribble offence - where's Conner Henry when you need him? - and within another such performances can prepare to move from a soon-to-be-empty Boondall to a half-full Auchenflower Stadium.

Those of us silly enough to be influenced by preseason form when preseason tournament winners who then won the championship can be counted on one hand, at least had one thing right - we thought the cellar dweller would be a team from Queensland.

But nominating Cairns as that team? Whoops!

How exceptional has Armstrong been, not to mention Rob Edwards, Sam Waardenburg, Tanner Groves, Kyrin Galloway, Kyle Adnam or my new favourite player Akoldah Gak?

Is it just me or does Pedro Bradshaw physically remind you of Kevin Brooks? No, he can't shoot it like KB but what a work rate this young man has - he is busting his butt everywhere to help this team.

And what a spectacular play against Tasmania when Waardenburg flew to reject a shot attempt by Reuben Te Rangi, releasing Groves on the break, with a pass to the cutting Armstrong for a two-handed slam! Gorgeous.

And that was before the Taipans slithered into Melbourne and choked the life out of a United team coming off its all-time best win over the Wildcats at Perth's RAC Arena, an absolute flogging.

All the commentary about "teams being tired after having to travel" or "they've already played this round" blah blah bull sheep ... well how do the talking heads then explain Adelaide beating SEM Phoenix, then travelling to Wollongong and beating Illawarra, when the red-hot Hawks had only that match this round?

If the program doesn't implode, the 36ers have the potential to be very relevant at this season's business end and two factors were key.

One was Kendric Davis going off and Isaac Humphries seeing the ball. Most of the other givens - Dejan Vasiljevic can score, Montrezl Harrell is a beast, Lat Mayen was a smart recruiting coup - were established but getting Davis and Humphries going suddenly took 0-2 to 2-2.

That was a cracker game but the best was saved for last. With some credibility to recover, Perth took it to the JackJumpers in Hobart, Tassie's 9-point first quarter the worst in its history.

But whenever the lead threatened to blow out - and at one stage it was at 14 - Tasmania steadily reeled it back to a manageable margin before the inevitable rush to the finish line.

That final minute of regulation was something so wild and chaotic it was worthy of a time capsule before in the crisis of the emergency, the Jackies called on their MDs.

First it Milton Doyle swishing a 3-pointer on the siren to make it 71-71, sending the match into overtime and the full house into a frenzy.

Then, deep into a tense and exciting five-minute extension, it was Majok Deng who blasted a triple that broke it open for an 84-79 home win and a 0-2 round for Perth.

Yes, Bryce Cotton finished with a game-high 24 points, but the amount of work he has to do to get an open look is not only unconscionable but ridiculous. One of the most prolific scoring imports of all time and he has to play 40:28, be run ragged in a system which, by now, surely, should have been devised around him. 

Oh well. John Rillie knows better.

Congratulations too for Derek Rucker during the Kings-Bullets debacle for managing to resist putting us on a Xavier Cooks "quadruple-double watch" when he had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Phew. So close.

And a final memo to Lanard Copeland in commentary. Please, please, please Copes, just try to go one single match - just one - without saying "we got a ballgame" or any variation of it ("we've got ourselves a ballgame"). What the F were you expecting? A board game? Marbles? A barbecue?

Every, Single. Game. Out it comes. Here's a tip (maybe share it with Pete Hooley?) Sometimes you don't have to say anything.

GORJOK GAK ON AK GAK: A basketball clash but also the main course at a Klingon restaurant.