Basketball On The Internet.

WAYBACK Wednesday was a weekly feature I wrote last season for Adelaide 36ers website, which now you can revisit, see for the first time or completely ignore!

ADELAIDE 36ERS V CANBERRA CANNONS

CLIPSAL POWERHOUSE, DECEMBER 31, 2001

THE NBL’s switch to summer for the 1998-99 season meant the beginning of New Year’s Eve matches, initially embraced by all.

Adelaide was no exception and for the close of 2001, had the mighty Canberra Cannons roll into the Clipsal Powerhouse.

CJ Bruton was running the show, with quality imports George Banks and Dave Thomas in tow, and the game started like a true old-fashioned shoot-out.

The 36ers led 31-25 at the end of the first quarter and fans already were getting into party mode.

The party definitely started early though as Adelaide burst Canberra's balloon 128-99 with a record-breaking final quarter blitz.

The 36ers' 48-point final term ranked then as the fourth highest single-quarter return in the club's 19-year history while shattering foundation club Canberra's records as the most points the Cannons have conceded in a quarter.

Along the way, the Sixers' devastating backcourt tandem of dual-Olympian Brett Maher and super import Willie Farley carved the heart out of the Cannons with 39 and 36 points respectively.

Banks fought a lone offensive hand with 38 points and 10 rebounds for the Cannons but where Canberra had Banks, Adelaide had the Mint with Maher and Farley.

The duo was pure gold all night - Maher the tough nugget launching the Sixers' form recovery with a 17-point first term, Farley liquid gold as he ran rings around an increasingly demoralised Cannons defence.

Maher added seven defensive boards and five assists and Farley had two assists in the opening minutes on his way to four, six rebounds and seven steals, four in the final quarter avalanche.

New Sixers big man Matt Garrison tied the game 20-20 with 2:35 left in the first quarter with the first of his 17 points. That was the start of a 9-0 run, the 36ers never headed again.

Canberra grafted it back to 38-41 with 6:22 left to half-time after Adelaide had stumbled early into the bonus free throw situation. Four trips to the line inside 90 seconds had given the Cannons a sniff. All they were smelling was ether.

Rupert Sapwell - who had a season-high six assists - fed Maher for a baseline swoop and a bonus free throw, Farley swished a jumper after his shake-and-bake cooked the defence, then followed with a defensive rebound and 3-pointer to smother a comeback.

To its undying credit, Canberra kept battling on and across the 48 sizzling minutes, unleashed a devastating array of dunks, the like of which Adelaide's defence has rarely, if ever, encountered.

Geordie Cullen had consecutive slams in the first quarter, Banks had a tip dunk, an offensive board slam, another off an inbounds pass, three in a row during the third term and one more with 16 seconds left for the final scoreline.

Dave Thomas also threw down a savage one in the third - 10 dunks against Adelaide would be a record, if stats for spectacular play were kept.

Banks even missed an open one as he showed he was in the same class as Maher and Farley - a tier above the rest of the players.

Adelaide nursed a 10-point lead into the final quarter, immediately challenged as Banks converted a three-point-play and Cameron Rigby drilled a triple.

But 76-81 was as close as Canberra would come.

Garrison drove, scored and added a bonus before Farley stripped Thomas of the ball and went hard to the hoop.

Thomas fouled him hard to prevent the basket but Farley's "Jordanesque'' swooper kissed the glass and swished for an 86-76 lead.

The crowd erupted and while Farley missed the bonus, he was stealing the ball again to release Maher who flipped it to Paul Rees for an 88-76 cushion.

From there it was a shoot-out and Adelaide was just warming up while the Cannons were just cooling off.

A 48-point final quarter to end the year certainly left little doubt what the 36ers would be capable of in 2002.

And they didn’t let anyone down.