The top of the table New Zealand Breakers will face the fourth-placed Perth Wildcats in the first round of the ANBL basketball playoffs, after the Cairns Taipans sealed third place in the competition by beating the second placed Townsville Crocodiles.
The Taipans easily accounted for the Crocodiles 80-64 on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd at the Cairns Convention Centre to set up a mouth-watering 'Reptile Rumble' play-off series next week.
The victory sees the Taipans finish the season in a franchise-high third place and pits them against their arch-rivals Townsville in a three-game series for a place in the Grand Final.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coast Blaze spoiled the Sydney Kings home finale with a 96-79 victory in front of the biggest ANBL crowd of the season at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday.
The Breakers face the Wildcats in their first playoff clash on Thursday night in Auckland.
