BASKETBALL
COUNTRY BASKETBALL LEAGUE
By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
CBL returned at the weekend with some rousing results to kick the season off.
TRARALGON began their year of retribution going two-for-two with wins over Morwell and Sale.
Beginning on Saturday, the T-Birds were made to work for their first game of 2024 in a competitive 88 to 82 affair against the Magic.
Playing in front of their home fans, Morwell got off to an impressive start, jumping out to a 9-4 start out of the gate with Magic recruit kicking things off with five quick points in his new colours.
Morwell continued to find baskets but Traralgon increased their tenacity as expected to tie the ballgame up 20-all to end the first quarter.
Returning T-Bird Mason Porykali ended the opening few minutes with four of the last five scores off his hand.
The game pushed forward only for a consistent dry spell from either side to limit the first three minutes of the second term with only two possessions ending in successful field goals made (both from Morwell).
Traralgon still continued to tick their score up with trips to the free throw line before Kody Tibballs added a welcoming five points in 20 seconds to give the T-Birds their first lead of the game.
That Tibballs burst would ignite a 28-14 run for Traralgon through to halftime with them ahead by 15 points.
Those type of runs by Traralgon usually end any chance of the opposition mounting a chance, but to their credit, Morwell continued to fight.
Although no considerable ground was made up for, Morwell matched the T-Birds on almost every turn, dropping the game to as low as 12 points but finishing at the same margin as halftime.
The Magic opened the fourth quarter with Dejay Ansell nailing a three pointer that started things off again for them.
Morwell were exerting themselves defensively and seeing results as they began to chip away at their deficit.
However, Traralgon matched when they needed to and the lead still sat at 14 points with three minutes spare despite Morwell’s efforts.
Nick Sedley and Ansell would nail two threes to bring it to seven points with 40 seconds remaining.
But with only so many possessions left in the game, Traralgon maintained composure to see out their first win.
Tibballs finished with 27 points and four three pointers with Zac Bezzina, Jarrod King-Church and Porykali all heavy contributors for the T-Birds with 16 points each.
Sedley top-scored for the Magic with 28 points and five from long distance, Ansell and Hayden Weir with 12.
Coming off an eighth-place finish last season with only three wins, Morwell have bolstered their line-up and continue to empower their young up-and-comers.
Coach Marco Tripodi made mention of this opening game against Traralgon as a litmus test to see where they stand this year during last week’s Express preview.
Despite not getting the desired result, Morwell should still be excited off the back of this game decade to see how they stand moving forward after pushing a side who’s won two of the last three grand finals.
Traralgon would following this performance with a 48-point thrashing of Sale at GRISS, Sunday afternoon.
Combatting their narrow fourth quarter escape, the T-Birds responded to the detriment of the Sonics pouring in 43 points to just 14 in the opening term.
That was all that was necessary for Traralgon to see themselves to the end and give Sale no sniff of a tight affair as seen from the night before.
The T-Birds produced the highest score of the first round with everyone scoring including Bezzina and Oliver Becker with 20-plus points.
THE reigning premier, Moe, was travelled to Bairnsdale for its opening game of 2024 on Saturday.
The Bullets entered the competition for the first time in a number of years, yet it is a wonder why the defending champions had to kick off their season so far from home, not able to lift their banner ahead of their first game in front of their supporters.
Nevertheless, Moe weren’t worried about that, rather the task at hand, taking the game 76-58.
Jumping out to a 29-12 lead to end the first quarter, the Moe starters worked well on all cylinders out of the gate.
The returning Bairnsdale side seemed no match for the focussed and frankly superior Meteors as they again held the Bullets to just 11 points and saw themselves ahead 50-21 in time for the main break.
That matchup was worlds apart even after Moe lost the contributions of forward Tom Portbury who was taken to hospital.
The Bullets did outscore the Meteors in the second half but it was too little too late with Moe checking their first box of the season, 76-58.
The Meteors had five players finish in double digits with Ben van Dyk top-scoring with 15 points.
LATROBE Valley sides Moe and Morwell both had a bye in the first round of the season in the women’s competition.
