Breakers, Blasters ready to duel it out for grand final glory

By James Kleeman and Zac Standish

Feb 9, 2022

Mr Consistent: Eric Miraflores was pivotal to Benalla Breakers’ CBL semi-final win.

Going up strong: Seymour’s Jack Murphy goes up in his side’s semi-final win over Wodonga.

The Country Basketball League north-east division’s top two sides will go head-to-head on Saturday night for a shot at a CBL title.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Benalla and Seymour will roll into the big dance with rather different semi-final triumphs.

A young Breakers outfit fought until the death in its encounter with Wallan Panthers, getting the job done 76-65.

After taking the lead early at Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre, the Panthers slowly grew into the game, pushing the Breakers all the way after sinking a three in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

Benalla pulled ahead in the dying moments of the game, dropping 13 points to Wallan’s two to eventually fend off its opponent.

Sam Beks was integral to his side’s win, putting up a game-high 28 points, while Eric Miraflores put in a shift to drop a vital 17.

Breakers coach Wally Armstrong said a home crowd and game management at the death was the slim difference for his side.

“In the second half, I thought we were probably the fitter of the two teams, but to Wallan’s credit they pushed us all the way,” Armstrong said.

“Probably the greatest thing we had for us was the home crowd — they really lifted to get us over the line, even the Wallan boys said the crowd were awesome.”

Meanwhile, the Blasters punched a ticket to the final thanks to a dominant 73-53 victory over Wodonga Wolves.

In what was an evenly-spread performance across the roster, Keenan Gorski (17 points), Jack Murphy (13 points), Tyler Best (13 points) and Thomas O’Connor (12 points) made valuable contributions as the Blasters’ talent proved too much for the gallant Wolves.

Seymour led all the way and was particularly impressive in the second quarter, outscoring Wodonga 22-7 in a period that all but sealed the dominant triumph.

The Blasters will embark on a historic weekend, with its women’s team also set to play off for the CBL title after it prevailed 62-56 in a thriller against Myrtleford.

With grand final day now looming, Lady Blasters coach Bill Pearce said having two sides in the decider was a major coup for the club.

“It is absolutely terrific for the club,” Pearce said.

“It has been an interesting year with COVID-19 and things, so congratulations are definitely in order to Basketball Victoria for firstly getting a season up and running, but then also being able to complete it.’’

Both teams will go on the road for grand final night, with the Blasters’ women kicking off at 5.30pm and the men’s at 8pm at R.B. Robson Wallan Indoor Sports Stadium.