BASKETBALL
CBL
By TOM HAYES
EXACTLY half of the local teams that took to the court in Country Basketball League action managed to win at the weekend.
CBL Men’s
THE Traralgon men’s side was barely tested, while the opposite could be said for the Morwell men’s. The following day the Magic evened up their record for the weekend, while Moe search for answers.
TRARALGON keep trucking along.
The T-Birds recorded their fourth win of the season in a resounding 105 to 67 victory away from home.
There really was no let off from the visitors, who had their foot on the accelerator for just about four quarters against Wonthaggi.
The tone was set in the first half, which allowed Traralgon to tiptoe to the end without much trouble at all.
A great start had them up by nine points in the opening term, almost doubling their host’s score, 20-11. Things only became much better for the T-Birds in the following quarter, as they outscored Wonthaggi by 22 points to extend their lead beyond 30.
Wonthaggi drew the T-Birds’ lead back marginally in the third quarter, scoring 23 points to 21, but still a wall stood in their way, staring down the barrel of a 29-point deficit.
Traralgon closed out the win in style, extending upon their already huge margin, adding another 29 points to its total, only allowing the Coasters to add 20.
The T-Birds walked away as very convincing winners, doing so by 38 points. Aiding the side to victory was Zac Bezzina with 26 points. Also featuring prominently was Koby Tibballs (22 points), Mason Porykali (17), Bradley Watson (14), and Ben Barlow (14).
A win from their sole game of the weekend moves Traralgon’s win-loss record to 4-1, currently sitting in third place behind Pakenham (6-0) and Warragul (4-1, higher percentage).
MORWELL had its first of two games of the weekend at home against Warragul, and despite their best efforts, the Warriors were too good, recording a 95-84 win.
The Magic were never far from the pace, but at every break in play, the Warriors lead continued to extend just marginally, and every point counted.
Most of the damage was actually dealt to the Magic in the first term, which saw them concede an extra seven points, establishing their deficit.
Seven points soon became 10 at the end of the half, as Warragul outscored Morwell 23 points to 20 in the second term.
The Magic were only once again edged out by their counterparts in the third quarter, with just two points separating them. But once again to the advantage of Warragul, pushing the visitor’s lead out to 12 points.
It would’ve been an unlikely comeback, and that it was, as Morwell fell short. The one shining light was the fact they won the last quarter by a point, shaving their losing margin back to 11 points at the final buzzer.
Jordan Canovan led the way in defeat with 27 points, while help was provided from William Tankard with 16.
Morwell cleaned up their act the following day, with a massive win over Bairnsdale 91-64, at home once again.
This time around, Morwell wasn’t messing about, getting on with the job from the get-go, putting the Bullets in their place.
The Magic jumped the gun in the opening quarter to burst out to a 10-point lead, scoring 25 to 15, before an even more dominant second quarter, which only improved their margin out to 25 points, outscoring Bairnsdale 26 to 11.
With such a margin up their sleeve only halfway through the game, it would’ve been a heck of a steal if Bairnsdale managed to grab the win from Morwell.
But the Magic kept gaining to extend on their lead even further. Although the third quarter was much more lower scoring, Morwell managed to escape the clutches and score five more points, pushing their lead to 30 points.
Bairnsdale bit back in the last, winning the quarter by three points to finish behind the pace by 27, handing Morwell its second win for the year.
Tankard led the way with 21 points, with Dejay Ansell (15) and Canovan (14) keeping him company.
Morwell’s 2-3 record keeps them in the hunt, in fifth place after four rounds.
MOE continued to struggle in the early part of season 2024, recording its second loss, this time going down 82-70 to Wonthaggi.
Considering the amount Traralgon defeat the Coasters by, this was quite the swing compared to their Latrobe Valley rivals.
The Meteors were out of the gates quickly and looked to be the goods after the opening stanza, leading the way by eight points, 25-17.
The high would be short-lived however, with the Coasters handing them a reality check with a quick second quarter response.
Wonthaggi outscored Moe 28-13 in the second term, flipping the script on the Meteors, who now trailed by seven points at the halfway mark.
The Coasters continued to run away with it, it seemed, adding another four points to their advantage after the third term, and before you knew it, their lead was in double digits.
A slower-scoring final term from both teams saw either side just record 31 points between them. But once again, it was into the advantage of Wonthaggi, who extended their lead once more to 12 points, which would be their winning margin.
Ben and Jayden van Dyk led the way for Moe with 18 and 15 points respectively. Stephen O’Brien was reliable with 14.
Moe’s 2-2 record has them currently in seventh place, a concerning position to start the season.
CBL Women’s
LATROBE Valley sides in the women’s competition went 1-1 at the weekend, beginning with Morwell hosting Warragul.
The Magic were out of the encounter before it could even get going, giving up an 18-point buffer to the Warriors after the first quarter.
Although they pegged it back a touch in the second term, the Magic still trailed by 13 points at the half. A comeback wasn’t completely off the cards.
But their comeback hopes were wiped from any thoughts after the third quarter played out, as Warragul went to town on Morwell, smashing them 35-14, pushing their lead out to 34 points with a quarter to play.
Morwell once again did well to reel the margin back in their favour, but were nowhere near close, going down by 27 points.
Emily Scholtes was outstanding despite the result, scoring 30 points – nearly half of Morwell’s score.
It was just Morwell’s first loss of the season as they sit with a 2-1 record in fifth place.
MOE got the chocolates over Wonthaggi in the women’s, doing so with the scoreboard reading 60-52.
Wonthaggi had the edge early, going up by three points after the first quarter, then extending to eight points after the half.
Moe dropped the hammer in the third quarter though, with a monster 25 to 7-point quarter, going up by 10 themselves heading into the final term.
Moe lost the final term, winning just one for the game, but they had done enough from their third quarter effort, as the Coasters pegged the Meteors’ lead down to eight points at the final buzzer.
Caitlyn Demczuk scored 15 points, as Moe remain undefeated at 3-0, currently third on the ladder.