Warriors take ninth title
By Nathan Weatherhead The Warragul Warriors have taken home another CBL title, defeating the Southern Peninsula Sharks 100-87 in Korumburra on Saturday night.
After falling twice to the Sharks during the regular season, the Warriors were the underdogs as the ball tipped. With Sharks main man Matthew Brasser on his mind after an incredible 53-point outing in their last game, coach Mike Santo tasked Ambu Uliando with the defensive assignment and he didn’t disappoint.
Uliando kept the league leading scorer under wraps when it mattered, never giving him an inch of space to work in, while also hitting the scoreboard early as the Warriors jumped the Sharks thanks to a 12-point first quarter from Jarryd Moss.
The Warriors played terrific team-oriented basketball, with the ball zipping around the court to find the open man. Young gun Murray Myers stepped up for the side, stretching the Warrior lead to 11 points as the Sharks called timeout, looking for a way to get their star man Brasser into the contest.
It wasn’t to be however, as Uliando continued to keep the guard quiet, not allowing him to get into a rhythm, with the Warriors taking a sizable 49-38 lead into halftime on the back of Myers 13 first half points.
Santo urged his team to not rest on their laurals though and Murray Myers took that on board.
He began the third quarter with six straight points, giving the Warriors their biggest lead of the night as Warragul took control of the contest in every way.
Uliando, continuing to clamp down on Brasser, managed to get free himself and hit a big three to give the Warriors more breathing space as the capacity crowd in Korumburra sensed an upset was on the cards.
Myers continued on his merry way, getting to the hoop at will, while also setting up several others in what was his best game in a Warrior uniform as a tense final quarter loomed.
It was the Sharks who showed their bite early in the fourth. Brasser began to heat up and they cut the lead to just six points with six minutes remaining. Again though, Myers shone through. A layup and then a pass to find Santo wide open at the free throw line as time dwindled all but ended the Sharks hopes, with free throws giving the Warriors a 13-point victory.
Coach Mike Santo said the win with the team was something special.
“It’s unreal, very special, to see them grow and grow each week, it’s fantastic. I’ve won eight, but to make it nine with this group was awesome, especially after losing four previously, it’s just sweet,” he explained.
He was also full of praise for his long-time teammate Ambu Uliando after his defensive efforts on the league leading scorer.
“Jarryd wanted the first crack, but I gave it to Ambu, we’ve been teammates for the last 20 years and I couldn’t be more stoked for him He’s one of the best players around and it showed tonight” he said.
Alongside his suffocating defensive efforts, Uliando also finished with 28 points to take home the grand final MVP, while Jarryd Moss was named league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, capping off a scintillating return to CBL for the former Warragul local.
After an explosive 28-point outing himself, Murray Myers said that he knew as a team how desperately they wanted to win.
“I know how much we wanted this one, we came out strong in the first half, we wanted to keep that mentality, Mike said we needed to keep pushing”
“It was great to win this one, Mike needs to retire some time, so maybe he’ll think about it after this,” he laughed. “For me I love to be able to get my teammates involved as well, so I tried to do that too.”
Santo finished by praising the team and the effort they had given across the whole season.
“I think we had a great blend of experience this season between the veterans and the young guys who obviously stepped up in a big way tonight, while also having Jarryd back this season was just huge for us.”
With some promising young talent in the region, it’s another nod to the work that is happening in basketball throughout the Warragul region as the Warriors will look to go back to back next season.