LIAM DURKIN
BASKETBALL
By LIAM DURKIN
MORE elite basketball was welcomed to Traralgon on Sunday, with the Women’s National Basketball League making its way to the region.
Locals were treated to a thrilling match between the Melbourne Boomers and Perth Lynx, which went into overtime.
The two-top teams locked horns at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium, with Perth
winning 76-71 to take the points back on the long flight home.
For the sole Perth supporter spotted, the result surely made the trip worthwhile.
Virtually nothing separated the teams throughout the match. Scores were level at half-time and only two points the difference at three-quarter time in favour of the Lynx.
Perth levelled the scores with 10 seconds remaining in the final term following a clutch three pointer from Alexandra Sharp to send the game into overtime.
Some strategic time outs were called thereafter, however neither side could gain an advantage.
Lynx established a buffer in overtime thanks to consecutive shot clock violations by the
Boomers.
Despite the result, the Boomers, who have adopted Traralgon as a home-away-from-home, brought a great deal of profile to the area working under the banner of ‘Traralgon Takeover’.
A crowd of dignitaries heard from Traralgon local and former Boomer Desiree Glaubitz pre-match, who spoke about how far the WNBL had progressed since its formative years.
With the WNBL following the success of the recent NBL match in Traralgon, Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said it was great to know Latrobe was identified as an area of purpose for elite sport.
“It is fantastic, I think what we are seeing from the number of people that are coming out to these games is that they really do enjoy it, particularly our local kids who get the opportunity to interact with elite sporting stars that they have been watching from a distance for a really long time,” she said.
Cr O’Callaghan hoped the partnership between the Boomers and Latrobe would ensue.
“I think all of the partnerships we are building out of this kind of activity now is not just about the games, it is about the incidental support for schools, sporting clubs, it’s all of the opportunities that we create,” she said.
“We have even seen from local businesses tonight providing the catering through to support for the event, activities that we undertake are always heavily engaged with local businesses, the local economy benefits when you have people coming down for the games they are staying here, they are going to hospitality venues, they are accessing a broad range of other things in the community and that creates a sustainable and longer term benefit.”
Cr O’Callaghan came dressed for the occasion, sporting a pair of purple shoes in line with the Boomers colours.
“I had to find something purple, so I thought if anything – we’ll go corporate but purple,” she said.
