BASKETBALL

CBL

By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

BARRING some miracle run and epic collapse from the two top sides as the regular season nears its end, Latrobe Valley looks fit to continue to feature in the final week of CBL in Gippsland with Traralgon sitting tied for first-place alongside Pakenham with a round to go.

Traralgon continued on a dominant stretch at the weekend, while Moe are destined to miss finals after winning the Grand Final less than 12 months ago.

 

Men’s

THE T-Birds took down Bairnsdale at GRISS on Saturday night 99 to 79, making them winners of their last six games.

Even after a week’s rest, Traralgon still managed to look worlds apart of their competition.

Although the Bullets stuck closely by during the first quarter, and even more, held the lead with less than two minutes left in the term, the T-Birds ended on a 7-2 run to be ahead by three points.

Traralgon then entered the second quarter on a rampage opening the first four minutes on a 21-2 run jumping out to a 20-point lead that was enough to wrap up the game.

Even as Bairnsdale lifted their offensive output back to a level that matched their opponents, the T-Birds were in a zone as they went ahead by 30 points during the third quarter.

Despite coming up against the bottom ranked side who’ve only managed the one win this season, Traralgon was still lessened with a few players out with notable absences of Ben Barlow and Mason Porykali, which meant more opportunities for some younger, development players – coach Logan van Berkel even had to lace up.

Zac Bezzina finished with a game-high 33 points and five three-pointers and Kody Tibballs with 30.

The T-Birds are two games ahead of finals contenders Maffra and Warragul while also being the only side to beat Pakenham during the season – even better, on their home court which is additionally where the Grand Final will be played again this year at Cardinia Life.

 

THE reigning premier on the other hand didn’t have the weekend they would’ve been asking for, going down in each of their matchups by more than 20 points both on their home deck.

On the brink of their finals chances being officially vanquished, losses to Maffra (21 points) and Warragul (30) did not help their cause.

It was a promising start on Saturday night against the Eagles, but an average second quarter sent Moe behind by too much, unable to get it under a two-possession ballgame the rest of the way, especially after being outscored again by double digits in the final term.

Ben and Jayden van Dyk were both impressive with 22 and 20 points respectively.

Desperately needing a win the following day to give them any chance of not just repeating the previous season’s result but to simply make the postseason, the Meteors were done convincingly by the Warriors.

Moe was unable to get much to go during any decent stretch throughout the day, outscored at every turn and only totalling above 20 quarter points in the final term.

They did have five players score in double figures, led by Jayden van Dyk with 14 points, but Warragul had a much higher output with four players with more than 18 points.

The trend throughout the majority of the season for the Meteors has definitely came down to player availability, especially after the exits of league MVP Austin Shelley and starting forward Tom Portbury going down for the season in just their first game.

 

MORWELL had the bye.

 

Women’s

CONVERSELY, the Moe women’s side could be left standing once the season comes to a close, having only lost the one game to date – which came at the weekend.

The Meteors picked up another victory Saturday night against Maffra 77-41.

After a hot start saw them ahead 17-8 following the first quarter, the Eagles rebounded to de down by just a point at halftime.

Moe then flipped the switch, outscoring Maffra by 37 points in the second half, including holding them to just four points in the fourth quarter.

Caitlin Demczuk led the way with 12 points, Danielle Davies (11) and Piper Albert (10).

They then succumbed to their first loss against Warragul on the Sunday, 67-54.

Although a competitive opening term ended with the Meteors down just three points and then an 18-12 second quarter had them equally ahead at halftime, a reverse of fortunes from the day before played out as Moe was outscored by 16 points in the second half.

Lauryn King-Church was the only Meteor in double figures with 13 points.

 

MORWELL had the bye.