TAIPANS coach Aaron Fearne believes the finals experience his squad gained last season will prove vital as the battle for the NBL top four intensifies.

The Taipans moved into fourth on the ladder with their 76-67 victory over the Perth Wildcats last Friday, but a finals appearance is far from guaranteed with six rounds remaining.

Fearne’s men travel to Townsville on Friday for the reptile rumble against the fifth-placed Crocs before returning to Cairns on Saturday to host the Tigers, who are running sixth.

A slip-up in either match could have dire top-four ramifications for the Taipans, but Fearne has faith his players can draw on the mettle that carried them to last season’s championship decider against eventual winners, the Breakers.

"There’s no doubt when you get that close to the championship you want to give yourself another chance," Fearne said.

"Earlier in the season, we had to deal with a lot of injury and a lot of guys had to step up.

"We’re healthy now, so to speak, and we’re in a position where we can start building momentum.

"But we’re under no illusions. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.

"We have to keep working on being consistent, otherwise it’s just a role of the dice."

But there was no luck involved in the Taipans’ nine-point win over the second-placed Wildcats.

The home team producing a brilliant third quarter to blow one of the title favourites off the court.

"We played some good basketball in the New Year’s Eve game against New Zealand, but that third quarter (against the Wildcats) was pretty impressive," Fearne said.

"Like (Wildcats) coach (Rob) Beveridge said, he had to burn two timeouts just to try and stop our momentum.

"The crowd were awesome and the players were able to feed off it.

"It was pretty special to watch."

Taipans point guard Jamar Wilson top scored with 24 points, but missed his third NBL Player of the Week honour to Oscar Forman, who led the bottom-placed Hawks to a win over the Breakers with an inspired shooting performance.

While many thought it was a battle between Wilson and Forman for player of the week, Fearne would have liked Taipans centre Ian Crosswhite to be included in the conversation.

"I thought he was outstanding (in the Wildcats win), and that gets overlooked a bit," he said.

"For a centre to get eight points, grab 12 boards and then do the work he does at the defensive end, what stat measures that?"

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