TOM HAYES
BASKETBALL
CBL By TOM HAYES THE curtains closed on the 2022 CBL Gippsland season, with both Men’s and Women’s Grand Finals played on Saturday at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium in Traralgon. First up was the Women’s division, where Korumburra Wildcats steamed to the title, slaughtering Moe Meteors by 48 points. The Wildcats put the pedal to the metal, growing its lead in every quarter, climbing to the title at full speed. With a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, Korumburra’s lead grew to 21 at the half, as it kept the Meteors to just seven points in the second quarter. The Wildcats weren’t running out of energy anytime soon, with the lead extending to 30 with a quarter to play. Korumburra’s final quarter was certainly the most over-powering, outscoring Moe 24-6, to complete a Grand Final demolition. Moe’s best point-scorer was Caitlin Demczuk, doing so once again for the Meteors in 2022. The Grand Final MVP was taken out by Korumburra’s Gemma Dixon, who featured with eight points, which included one from outside the arc. NOT many teams can say they’ve won two Grand Finals in a calendar year, but now the Traralgon T-Birds Men’s team can, after defeating Maffra Eagles. Like fellow Premiers, Korumburra, the T-Birds grew its lead after every quarter to ease to another title. The first quarter was the tightest of the entire Grand Final, with Traralgon slightly edging Maffra by just a point. But the remaining three quarters would be all Traralgon, as they continued to romp the Eagles. The T-Birds outscored Maffra by 10 points in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into the half time break. The rest in between quarters did the T-Birds a world of good, as they came out and continued to batter the Eagles more severely in the second half. The lead grew to 15 with a quarter to play, before Traralgon blew it out to 27 points, thanks to a 32-20 quarter, to be crowned eventual champions. Points were scored all over the floor for Traralgon, with Christian D’Angelo top scoring with 24. Frazar Brouns scored 22 points, while Ben Barlow, Kody Tibballs and Luis D’Angelo all scored in double digits. Christian D’Angelo was awarded the Grand Final MVP for the T-Birds, thanks to his outstanding performance, which included three three-pointers.
