TOM HAYES
BASKETBALL
CBL
By TOM HAYES
PLENTY of action has ensued over the last three weeks of the Country Basketball League, as the competition passed the halfway stage.
Moe Meteors are taking charge of the men’s competition, while Traralgon T-Birds have only suffered one loss in the Women’s.
Morwell Magic appear to be struggling in either division, with just a 1-6 win-loss record in both the men’s and women’s.
Moe men have collected five wins from five games in the last three rounds, most of which in convincing fashion.
In Round 3 they took care of Lakes Entrance Pelicans by 30 points, 93-63, and edged out Maffra Eagles by three points, 109-106.
The following week they made the most of their sole game of the weekend, defeating Sale Sonics by 23 points, 90-67.
Most recently, the Meteors ticked off another two wins, downing the Magic by 23 points, 117-94, and proved to be too strong for Wonthaggi Coasters by eight points, 97-89.
The Meteors sit on top of the ladder, the only team remaining in the men’s competition win a perfect record.
Austin Shelley leads the way for the Meteors, scoring 208 points throughout the season so far, averaging almost 37 points per game from his six showings.
Rohan Demzcuk, Thomas Portbury and Ben van Dyk are all helpful servants of Shelley, scoring 125, 115 and 113 points for the Meteors this season.
In the women’s format, Moe has boasted a 3-2 record from the last three rounds.
They recorded wins against the Pelicans (100-37), the Sonics (106-52) and the Magic (75-56), while suffering defeats to the Eagles by three points, 69-66, and most recently to the Coasters (62-46).
The Meteor women sit sixth in the 11-team competition, holding onto a 5-3 record.
Tahni Hodgens leads the way for the women with 102 points from eight games, while Brooke Hunter is also prominent with 93 points this season.
TRARALGON T-Birds have only played one fixture in each division over the last three weeks.
The men tasted defeat for the second time this season, going down to the Eagles by 16 points, 100-84.
They are currently fifth in the league, but have only played five games, substantially less than their opponents who have played seven or eight.
Kody Tibballs has been a standout for the T-Birds this season with 105 points, while Zac Bezzina remains a threat with 96 points to his name as well.
Traralgon women currently hold second on the ladder following their Round 3 win over the Eagles two weeks ago.
The T-Birds completed the 10-point win, 77-67, moving their record to 4-1, but remain a fair way off Korumburra Wildcats who are yet to drop a game.
Samantha Labros is head and shoulders above her team from a scoring perspective, with 93 points next to her name.
But the well-rounded team isn’t without help from Taylah Murtagh (58 points for the season) and Laura Vannapraseuth (41).
The T-Birds are expected to go deep into finals from here, with hopes they might be able to shake the Wildcats at the pointy end of the season.
MORWELL has found it tough in both divisions, registering two wins from eight games across the men’s and women’s competitions.
In fact, both sides just recorded their first wins in their second games of Round 5, both defeating Southern Peninsula Sharks.
The men found it tough with six straight losses, three of those added during Rounds 3 to 5.
Defeats to Pakenham Warriors (93-78), the Coasters (105-72) and the Meteors (117-94), had them winless from six games.
But their most recent fixture got them off the mark, with a resounding 28-point win against the Sharks.
In the same boat, the women also suffered six straight losses before finding their first win of the season.
From Round 3, Morwell Women lost to Pakenham (69-52), Wonthaggi (70-43) and Moe in Round 5 (75-56).
They got off the mark in style, defeating the Sharks by 19 points, 81-62, moving up to ninth on the ladder.
Abbey Noblett has scored 105 points for the season, the sixth-most for anyone in the league.
She is assisted by Emily Scholtes who has managed to score 86 points for the season.
