MAN mountain Nate Jawai was the tiny ray of sunshine for Cairns in the heavy 99-78 loss to Perth at the NBL Blitz in Ballarat on Saturday.

Jawai was limited to just seven games in the 2017-18 NBL season due to a foot injury and the Taipans have been cautious with the former NBA player and Australian Boomer in the build-up to this year’s campaign.

He played against the Bullets in Rockhampton three weeks ago and was rested from Cairns’ opening match at the NBL’s pre-season tournament on Thursday when the Taipans fell to Sydney after experiencing some pain in his foot.

Jawai had 10 points in 16 minutes from an efficient five shots from six attempts against the Wildcats when he looked agile and aggressive.

When he was a focus for the Taipans offence, Jawai was too hard to guard in the low post with his footwork and sheer size proving too much for the Wildcats.

Cairns need him to stay fit and healthy if they want to serious challenge for a playoff berth.

Perth led by four points at halftime but blew the Taipans off the court after the long break.

The Wildcats hit seven three-pointers from 11 attempts in the third term to outscore Cairns 31-22 for the quarter and seal the win.

The chief destroyers for the Wildcats were reigning NBL MVP Bryce Cotton (17 points, seven rebounds and four assists) and fellow import Terrico White (19 points and six rebounds), with Clint Steindl adding 15 points off the bench.

After producing an eye-catching 20 points, nine rebounds and two assists against the Kings, Taipans import Devon Hall hit just one shot from eight attempts to finish with three points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats.

Hall’s fellow Americans had better outings than the second round NBA draft pick, with DJ Newbill adding 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, and point guard Melo Trimble finishing with 17 points for the Mike Kelly-coached Taipans.

SUNDAY’S NBL Blitz program at Ballarat:
Cairns v New Zealand

Brisbane v Sydney

Adelaide v Perth

Melbourne v Illawarra