Shane Heal was a welcome return for the Dragons, who raced out of the blocks to assume the early lead. Rosell Ellis and star rookie Joe Ingles led the Dragons’ attack, with a combined 20 points in the opening term.

The Taipans couldn’t match South for accuracy early on, misfiring their first 10 attempts from downtown and shooting at just 33% from the field. Darnell Mee and Luke Martin finally stepped up for Cairns, sinking consecutive three-pointers to give the Taipans their first lead of the night.

But Cairns’ advantage was short-lived; the Dragons scored 11 unanswered points to round out the opening term. A three to Frank Drmic on the buzzer pushed the quarter-time score out to 33-23 in South’s favour.

A revived Cairns outfit gained control in the second term, with improved accuracy from the field and greater pressure under the rim. Martin Cattalini was on fire for the Taipans with 18 points for the quarter, while Ingles managed just five and Ellis was kept scoreless.

Ellis went head to head with Cairns’ Kevin Owens on the boards, but couldn’t stop the rampaging Taipans’ charge towards a 62-55 lead at the main break.

The Dragons were made to pay for inaccurate shooting in the third term, as Darnell Mee and Anthony Stewart joined in the Taipans’ scoring blitz to stretch the visitors’ lead. Kavossy Franklin top-scored for the Dragons with seven, but his stats were no match for Mee’s 15 or Stewart’s 13 for the quarter.

There were few highlights for South late in the third; Ellis’ none-from-four at the charity stripe and a rare airball by Shane Heal summed up the Dragons’ fortunes.

But the South Dragons stepped it up a gear in the final stanza, with Joe Ingles and Jacob Holmes inspiring a remarkable fight-back by the home side. Ingles, Holmes and Franklin led a 12-0 scoring rampage that had the Dragons to within three points with four and a half minutes on the clock. In a nail-biting final few minutes of play, Cairns stormed home to a 115-103 victory.

The result is likely to see the Dragons travel north for a repeat showdown in week one of the playoffs, a game Heal is confident his side can win.

“I’m confident if we come ready to play we can beat anybody,’’ Heal said.

South Dragons 103 (Ingles 25, Franklin 18, Holmes 17)
Cairns Taipans 115 (Mee 32, Cattalini 21, Stewart 18)
Crowd: 1720 @ Geelong Arena, 14/01/07