Maffra is through to the Men’s Grand Final of the Country Basketball League.
The Eagles won through to the decider after defeating Moe in Sunday’s semi, and will play defending champions Traralgon.
The encounter between Maffra and Moe was a Grand Final rematch of sorts, as these sides battled it out in the 2020 Grand Final, but this time it was second versus third.
Maffra blitzed Moe in the opening term, outscoring the Meteors by nine points, which grew in the second, as Maffra took a 13-point lead into the half.
Moe dragged the deficit back to just seven points heading into the last quarter, but like the first term, Maffra gripped the match by the throat to blow the lead back out to 17 points.
The Eagles were led by Sam Whelan who scored 35 points including three three-pointers.
It was a great way for Whelan to cap off his 100th game, made all the more special by the fact he was able to bring up the milestone on his home court.
Headed for its second Grand Final in three years, Maffra joins Traralgon in it, both teams with just one loss to its name all season.
The T-Birds hosted Warragul Warriors on Saturday night at Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium. The last time these sides faced, Warragul was able to force the T-Birds’ only loss of the 2022 season, taking the lead in the final term to win by five points.
This time around, Traralgon righted its wrongs to make its way to the Grand Final, ensuring the Warriors could not reach the same stage it did last season.
Big performances from Ben Barlow (33 points), Frazar Brouns (24 points) and Christian D’Ángelo (23 points) were enough to almost outscore the entire Warriors side.
The T-Birds marched to the Grand Final, winners by 14 points: 99-85, hoping to go back-to-back this weekend.
IN the Women’s, both semi finals were decided on Saturday, setting up another intriguing Grand Final this weekend.
Top-of-the-ladder Moe took on fourth-placed Maffra in the first Semi Final at Latrobe Leisure, Newborough.
Moe had only lost one game all season, winning nine games by an average of more than 20 points, yet Maffra fought it until the very end.
The Meteors took a four-point lead into the half, despite trailing by three points at the end of the first quarter.
A gripping third quarter saw nothing between either team, both scoring 19 points a piece – the margin the same going into the final quarter.
Maffra had the edge in the final term, outscoring Moe for the second quarter of the match.
But, it wasn’t by enough – as Maffra fell short by two points: 62-60, Moe getting revenge for the 2020 Grand Final defeat to the same side.
Caitlin Demczuk top scored for Moe with 19 points, including two three-pointers, Piper Albert and Brooke Hunter the only others to reach double-digit point tallies.
Shortly after, the Second Semi Final took place, with Korumburra Wildcats hosting Traralgon.
Like Moe, Korumburra had only lost one game all season, which was to Moe in Round 7.
The T-Birds still had a decent record of eight wins and two losses, but were undeniably the underdogs in this encounter.
It wasn’t much of a fight, as Korumburra seemingly won every quarter but the last to ease to victory by 27 points.
The damage was done early into the fray, with the writing on the wall for Traralgon, as the Wildcats led by 30 points going into the last quarter.
Traralgon took something positive away from the deafeat, as Sammy Labros had the most points of anyone on the floor, with 28.
Korumburra were led by Chloe Hogg (22 points), Alahna Arnason (14 points), Krystal Arnason (12 points) and Gemma Dixon (10 points).
Coming off a storming victory, Korumburra will face Moe in the Grand Final this weekend, and like the men’s, both sides have only one loss all season.
