Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings: Chaotic scenes as basketball match is completed WITHOUT a shot clock or air con as ‘power issue’ sees former Opals star Alice Kunek feel the heat in sweltering conditions
- Cairns Taipans’ match with Sydney Kings turns into chaos
- Basketball game affected by electrical problems
- They had to play without a shot clock or air conditioning.
There were chaotic scenes across the NBL on Thursday night as a “power issue” saw players finish the match without a shot clock or air conditioning in hot conditions.
Cairns’ game against defending champions Kings was stopped for almost an hour after an apparent power failure at the Cairns Convention Center minutes before the start of the second half.
Crews worked feverishly to resolve the issue, but as the delay continued, the teams made a gentleman’s agreement to play without a shot clock and act in the “spirit of the game.”
A power issue also meant that teams had to complete the game in searing humidity. Former Opals star and ESPN commentator Alice Kunek visibly sweated while reporting from the sidelines.
“We had a lot of problems with the authorities tonight,” NBL CEO Dave Stevenson said during the delay.
There were chaotic scenes in Cairns as an NBL match was abandoned due to a power failure
The shot clock stopped working before the second half because there was no air conditioning.
The hot conditions were hard to bear as Alice Kunek began to sweat visibly.
After a delay of nearly an hour, the teams agreed to play without a shot clock.
The Kings prevailed in a tight match in Queensland.
“It looks like the circuit breaker has failed, so they are trying to sort it out.
“We actually have kind of an innovative model where we’re going to try to put a camera on a laptop screen that will give us a shot clock and a timer, and display that on a big scoreboard.
“Then at least the players will know how much time is left.”
In the end, this decision was not necessary: both teams agreed to restart the game without a shot clock.
It was an unfortunate sequence of events for Stevenson, who hosted NBA scouts at the game.
Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said it was a new experience for him.
“I’ve never been involved in anything like this, but we just have to go with the flow,” Abdelfattah said.