CBL | Gallery | Breakers season ends in heartbreak as Seymour wins 10th CBL title

Making the trip up to Albury’s Lauren Jackson stadium on Saturday night, nobody had given the Breakers a chance.

A replay of last year’s decider, a match where the Breakers were blown off the court, Benalla was facing an equally as formidable Blasters unit.

The one difference was that this time around they were shooting for that elusive perfect season.

With absolutely nothing to lose, the Breakers took the court in a similar way to how a young challenger enters the boxing ring, and for large portions of the night they stood toe-to-toe with the heavyweight champion.

But unfortunately one lapse, which happened in the form of a 25-6 second term, would cost the Breakers the match as they could not rein in Blasters after half-time.

Despite the 18-point loss, Benalla coach Wally Armstrong said there were a lot of positives to take from the performance.

“I think both teams scouted each other really well and it was a fantastic battle from start to finish,” Armstrong said.

“At the end of the day games like this come down to your big players standing up in the big moments, and in the end they just had that little bit more firepower on the offensive end.

“We let them go on a bit of a run in the second quarter which ultimately cost us, and it was heartbreaking for the group to fail in the grand final again.

“But you could not question the efforts of the guys they gave it everything.”

To be any chance of pulling this upset Benalla needed a fast start, and luckily that is exactly what it got.

Playing fluid team basketball from the opening tip, the Breakers were in sync on both ends and really took it up to the Blasters to pull away to an early three-point lead.

“Both teams took a little bit of time to settle, but to our boys credit they really adapted well to the pace of the game and really matched it with the Blasters,” Armstrong said of the first quarter.

“To be three points up at quarter time it was the perfect platform for us, so to then blow it on the second term was disappointing.”

Showcasing its championship pedigree, the Blasters flipped the script after the first change with a near-perfect period of basketball.

The lift in intensity had the Breakers boys shell-shocked, as their three-point advantage quickly swung to a 16-point deficit at the main-change.

“Seymour just got on a run and our defence was a bit scratchy, but at the end of the day we just stopped attacking on the offensive end and they took advantage,” Armstrong said of the second quarter fade out.

“Our defensive transition was slow, our ball movement was slow and we didn’t nail our shots, while on the other end they took their opportunities.”

Now forced to play catch-up against the dynastic Blasters, the second half was always going to be an up-hill battle for the Benalla boys.

They did work their way back into the game slightly in the third term, winning the stanza 17-16.

But still well behind on the scoreboard, the Breakers simply could not work their way back to a position where it could contend, as the final score read 71-53 in Seymour’s favour.

Eric Miraflores once again led the way for Benalla with 11 points, while Sam Beks (10) and Kyle Termorshuizen (10) also reached double figures.

Star Seymour guard Tyler Best was crowned the MVP of the grand final after dropping 17 points.

Despite the disappointing end to the campaign, Armstrong said it was a privilege to lead this Breakers squad and was excited for what the future may hold.

“This was probably the best squad we’ve ever had and I loved every minute of coaching them this year,” he said.

“I play more sport through the athletes I coach, and that group was fantastic.

“Tom Downie brought so much to the table, Lachie Kego keeps developing as a basketballer, Eric Miraflores’ passion for the game is 24/7, so it was just so great to be involved with.

“And now with some exciting juniors coming through, I think it is a very exciting time in Benalla basketball.”