Blasters’ men and women suffer first blemishes of CBL campaign

Initially, it was the Blasters that made the hotter of the starts in the highly anticipated clash, racing out to an 11-5 lead in the opening minutes courtesy of the hot hand of Tyler Best, who nailed back-to-back three-pointers to give the home side an early advantage.

But the Panthers proved they were up to the task, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead by a point, before widening the gap with some sharp shooting from beyond the arc, reaching an 18-12 lead which the Blasters managed to cut back to a 14-18 deficit by the first break.

It looked as though Seymour had found its rhythm as the second term got under way, with the home side pouring in the first five scores of the quarter to once more hit the front with a 23-18 lead, though the Panthers replied with venom.

Four of the next five scores would be from beyond the arc, all the way of the visitors, who all of a sudden were back in control of the contest with a seven-point advantage, and while Seymour closed to within four with a minute left in the half, the Panthers managed to take a game-high nine-point lead into the main break, ahead 39-30.

Soon after the third term got under way, Wallan stretched the advantage to 15, leaving the Blasters trailing 30-45, but the home side again found momentum, slowly but steadily cutting down the deficit to get within two scores at one stage, but despite winning the quarter, the Blasters shaved only two points off the margin, heading into the final huddle down 48-55 and with plenty of work to do.

They were well on their way early in the final term, too, crawling to within three points at 54-57 behind, though the see-sawing nature of the contest had them fall back to a double-digit deficit at 54-65, before they again raced back to trail 62-65 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.

The Panthers did just enough to keep the Blasters at bay, though, stretching the lead to five in the dying stages and putting the first blemish on the Blasters’ record for the season.

Best again led the way in terms of scoring for Seymour with 26 points, ensuring his season average is a healthy 29 points through three games, while William Stewart was the only other Blaster in double digits with 15 points.

The Blasters remain top of the ladder despite the loss given they have played three times, and will look to rebound when they travel to second-placed Swan Hill for round three this Sunday afternoon when they take on the Flyers.

The women’s side suffered the same fate as the men at the weekend, also going down to Wallan 55-70 at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre on Saturday evening in a remarkably similar contest.

It was a much more evenly matched start to the contest as the two sides traded buckets in the opening exchanges, though the Blasters felt the full force of the Panthers in the dying stages of the first term, with the visitors turning a two-point advantage to a 10-point lead in the final two minutes, leaving the Blasters down 9-19 at quarter-time.

The deficit only continued to grow in the second term, too, as the Blasters were outscored 11-17 to head into the main break 16 points in arrears, trailing 20-36.

But the home side raced out of the blocks in the third term to cut the deficit to 10 points midway through the quarter, trailing 34-44, though would enter the final term 13 points behind and with a big mountain to overcome if they were to remain unbeaten.

The two sides traded blows in the final term, but Seymour was unable to make significant inroads to the margin, getting to within 10 points again at one stage, although a late flurry saw the Panthers claim the eventual 15-point victory.

Marley Pascoe (15 points) and Chloe Dimkopolous (11 points) led the scoring for the Blasters as the only two in double digits, though Justine Walker (8) and Kasey Lennox (7) were handy contributors.

The women’s side will also make the trip to Swan Hill on Sunday as they look to respond with a victory against the second-placed Lady Flyers.