Cairns Dolphins & Marlins v Townsville 26 July 2025
Both teams went into the evening knowing that win or lose wasn't going to change anything, so they let their heads go - the Dolphins wanted to spoil the party for the Flames, which they did by a few points, while the Marlins almost made it like the old Reptile Rumble days, Cairns v Townsville.
Before the Dolphins game started, we acknowledged the efforts of Cayla George, just returned from captaining the Opals to a Gold Medal at the Women's Asia Cup.
When you look at the score sheet, and see that Townsville Heat scored 108 points, and still lost to the Marlins by 30, you get the idea that there was a lot of messing around going on out there. It was fun to watch, two teams finishing off their respective seasons - and, in Chris Cedar's case, finishing off a storied career in North Queensland basketball with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals while Kody Stattmann put up a lazy 48 points...
Now for the Dolphins to play a home quarter final on Saturday 2nd August, and the Marlins have closed their season.
Farewell (for now) also to another stalwart of North Queensland basketball - Coach Kerry Williams who is moving to Adelaide to take up his new position as an Assistant Coach with the Adelaide 36ers.
All in all, a fun night...
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