THE build-up was epic but the game matched the hype last night as the Taipans overcame the National Basketball League-leading Perth Wildcats in a thrilling 79-76 win.

While victory was not sealed until the final seconds, the win was crafted by a purple patch of shooting from Phill Jones in the second quarter.

Jones, who finished with match highs in the scoring and rebound tallies, had 18 points in the second term, sinking the ball from all over the court.

The captain started his run when the Taipans trailed by 15 points but just over five minutes later, he had almost singlehandedly cut the margin back to three.

Jones admitted he had felt like he could not miss during his run.

"The ball’s in your hands and when you shoot it, you know it’s going in,’’ Jones said. "In that period of time, I felt like I wasn’t going to miss.

"I wasn’t really thinking about anything, all I was thinking about was getting open to shoot the ball.’’

After plenty of talk from both coaches in the lead-up to the NBL fixture, the tone was set for a thriller but Taipans mentor Aaron Fearne felt his players were perhaps
over-hyped.

"We knew we had to come out here and stand up and battle and fight and claw and get really physical and play the game and to be honest, I thought we were too juiced,’’ Fearne said.

"It was a bit of a blur that first quarter for everybody.

"We were looking for the next guy to make the play instead of looking at ourselves in the mirror and saying, ‘I’m going to make the play myself’.’’

Jones’s cameo turned the game, with Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge saying as much after the match.

"We came out and we executed and we made the open shots,’’ Beveridge said of his team’s start.

"Phill Jones just put on a performance in that second-quarter particularly – outstanding.

"It’s as good as you get.’’

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