ALTHOUGH his side may not be appearing in the National Basketball League (NBL) postseason, Taran Armstrong recorded the first triple-double of the 2024/25 season to lead the Cairns Taipans past the Brisbane Bullets.

It was the second clash of the 20th and final round of the fixture, with the two sides locking horns at Cairns Convention Centre on Thursday night. Both sides were ruled out of postseason contention after disappointing campaigns, but had the opportunity to finish the season on a high, and have enjoyed some entertaining matchups in the past.

It was a game with plenty of momentum swings, with the Taipans’ six-point quarter-time buffer completely erased by the main change. The defining factor in the match proved to be Cairns’ performance in the final quarter, outscoring the Bullets 27-17 in an emphatic last 10 minutes, doing enough to claim a 12-point win in its penultimate clash of NBL25.

The biggest talking point of the match was the performance of Armstrong, who capped off an extremely impressive individual campaign with a career-best performance.

Cairns Taipans (100) def. Brisbane Bullets (88)

Taran Armstrong – 28 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, one steal

It was a masterful stat-stuffing performance from Armstrong, who once again had an immense impact on the match and further demonstrated his star potential for the future at 23 years of age.

His leap as a scorer this season has been as clear as day, and delivered another excellent scoring performance that highlighted his ability to create his own shot. Armstrong shot 12/22 from the field, with most of his makes coming from inside the arc with his one-wood proving to be his ability to get to the basket and finish.

Nine of his 10 rebounds came after a Brisbane miss, and he often took advantage of the big men jostling for position under the hoop, flying in third-up to get first hands on the ball. At 196cm, he offers size at the point guard position, and used that to his advantage with a glass-cleaning performance.

In terms of court vision, there are not too many players in the NBL that match Armstrong’s ability to find his teammates, with the point guard recording another 10 assists in a perfect display of his talents as a playmaker. Whether it is in pick and roll situations or delivering a bullet pass across the court with laser precision, Armstrong seems to find gaps where others can not.

Taipans coach Adam Forde had nothing but praise for his star guard post-match, highlighting just young the talent is in terms of his career.

“This is just an example of what he’s capable of doing and the evolution of his game from last year to this year,” Forde said post-game.

“Imagine what that’s going to look like five years from now, wherever he is in the world, just capitalising on his talent that he’s had to work really hard for.”

The 2024/25 season has seen Armstrong elevate himself into the ‘star’ category of player in the NBL, and despite an injury interrupted campaign, has shown exactly why he is touted for a Boomers appearance later in his career. The Taipans will finish their campaign against the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena on Saturday.