WHILE the penultimate round of Country Basketball League action saw success for Wallan and Seymour’s men’s teams, both clubs’ female counterparts suffered rare slip-ups.
Seymour’s men affirmed their premiership favourite status with a pair of wins, one at home and one on the road, in round 15.
The Blasters took to their home court on Saturday night to trounce Wodonga Wolves 92-59, with forwards Keenan Gorski and Tyler Best and guard Abraham Solano combining for 46 points.
On Sunday, the Blasters took to the road to face the Benalla Breakers and their dangerous point guard Eric Miraflores, who leads the north-east division in scoring with 308 points in 14 games.
While Miraflores scored 21 points to lead the Breakers, the home side was powerless to stop Best, who poured in a season-high 33 points for Seymour.
Jack Murphy played a handy support role, scoring 13 points including four three-pointers, to help the Blasters wrap up another minor premiership.
Wallan’s men also impressed in their lone game on Sunday, riding the momentum of a 28-point first quarter to a 90-76 win at home against Albury Cougars.
Panther Ryan Philippe sits second on the individual scoring table behind Miraflores with 294 points in 12 games, and showcased his ability to score at all levels with 31 including five three-pointers against the Cougars.
Luke Liesegang was a more-than-handy foil with 21 points, and Riley Mclay scored 18.
The Panthers guaranteed themselves a top-four berth with the win and will play Seymour in a Mitchell Shire showdown to end the season at 7.30pm on Saturday at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre.
The Blasters are guaranteed to finish atop the ladder no matter the result, while Wallan could finish as high as second with a win.
Women
The playoff hopes of Wallan and Seymour’s women are less clear after both suffered losses at the weekend – the Blasters going down 55-78 to Wodonga Lady Wolves and Wallan losing 66-74 to Albury Cougars.
Seymour was on the back foot from the opening tip against the visiting Lady Wolves, trailing 10-29 after one quarter and never truly threatening to retake the lead.
While Tayha Watkins continued her outstanding season with 20 points and Alex Martorella had 11, the Blasters struggled to keep pace with a balanced Lady Wolves outfit led by Elizabeth Murphy, 17, Rachel Jeffrey, 16, Casey Ardern, 13, Stacey Brown, 12, and Amy Hutchinson, 10.
Wallan was similarly wrong-footed by the Cougars in the first quarter of their game on Sunday, trailing 8-17 after the first frame.
While a 29-9 third quarter for the Panthers showed promise, it was too little, too late for the home team.
Nicola Stewart had a team-high 20 points for Wallan and Carley Cranston turned in 16, but it was not enough to overcome a combined 44 points from Albury’s Kijana and Jade McCowan.
Seymour and Wallan’s women will play in Seymour at 5.30pm Saturday to conclude the season.
Either side could finish second on the ladder with a win, depending on the outcome of a game between the Lady Wolves and Cougars. Both Seymour and Wallan are assured of a finals berth.
