Leading the way: Riley Kego put in some big shifts for the Breakers at the weekend.
Photo by
Meg Saultry
A depleted Benalla Breakers have entered the Country Basketball League mid-season break licking their wounds following a tough weekend.
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The Breakers have slipped to third on the North-East ladder following their back-to-back losses in their round 12 double-header.
Playing at their home away from home at Shepparton Sports Stadium, the Breakers suffered a 94-68 defeat to Wallan on Saturday night, followed by a tense 94-84 loss against Myrtleford on Sunday.
Impacted by player unavailability in both matches, Breakers’ head coach Wally Armstrong said it was a case of his charges running out of steam.
“We were hit by player unavailability and COVID in both matches which was unfortunate,” Armstrong said.
“The opposition was in the same boat with player unavailability and you don’t want to make excuses. Take nothing away from both Wallan and Myrtleford, they were both better for longer than us.
“Wallan played good ‘D’ (defence) and limited our offensive input and Myrtleford got hot just as we got tired and they were without their big man.
“We just ran out of legs in both games.”
Eric Miraflores led the way with 30 points on Saturday night, while Sam Beks contributed with 24, before Miraflores (31) and Tom Downie (20) starred on Sunday.
Armstrong said the Saturday night loss to the Panthers was a frustrating one, with the Breakers coughing up an early lead before they worked their way back into the contest.
“On Saturday night we coughed up 37 points in the first quarter. We just didn’t play at the level we should be at,” he said.
“It’s not the type of basketball we stand for and it wasn’t good basketball. But to the boys’ credit they worked back and got within three at half-time but Wallan got on a run to end the game.
“And on Sunday we were up by 18 points at the half but we just ran out of legs.”
Despite the two losses at the weekend, Armstrong was still able to find plenty of positives.
“We had a number of youngsters step up which was a real positive for us,” he said.
“Riley Kego was asked to play more minutes than usual and both Sam Cox and Zach Schluter walked straight into CBL basketball and it’s outstanding for those kids. It’s great for Benalla basketball to see that youth coming through.”
Before the Breakers packed up ahead of the Christmas and new year holiday, captain Lachy Kego dropped in at the All-Abilities Christmas break-up party on Sunday.
Two stars: Lachy Kego and Mark, aka the Trick Shot King.
Shane Richardson and Cameron Kego have been at the forefront of the Breakers’ All-Abilities program and the weekend was a chance for the group to celebrate their efforts in 2022.
“The All-Abilities group had their Christmas break-up at the weekend and it was great to see them all out enjoying themselves and with plenty of smiles,” Armstrong said.
“It’s been a great concept by Shane and Cameron and I know a lot of people are appreciative of what they do.”
The Breakers will return to the court on January 7 with a home match against Wangaratta.
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