In the last game of the regular season, Benalla was back on its home court at the Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre.
The Breakers faced Shepparton in their homecoming game, a match-up of little consequence to the Gators, who were out of finals contention.
For Benalla, a win would clinch the minor premiership.
Momentum swung back and forth, but as the final whistle blew, the Breakers had done enough.
Coach Wally Armstrong said returning to the Benalla court lifted the players.
“Unbelievable. You’ve got no idea how much we missed playing in front of our home crew,” Armstrong said.
“It’s just a pleasure.
“Our backs were against the wall.
“We got to an early lead, and we gave up a lead with about two or three minutes to go.
“We were 10 points down, and with the crowd at home, I think (Sam) Becks hit a three, and then they called a time-out.
“We came out, had a stop, scored after that again and then we sort of never looked back from there.”
Claiming the minor premiership was the Breakers’ goal, but the Gators were unwilling to let that storyline play out without a fight.
Shepparton won the first quarter by three points in a spell where both sides hit the scoreboard frequently.
Benalla flicked a switch in the second quarter, breaking the Gators’ defence apart.
At halftime, the home side led by eight points.
The long break swung the momentum in Shepparton’s favour, and at three-quarter time, the Gators had reclaimed the lead by two points.
The Gators may only have been playing for pride, but it was enough to set them alight.
But, after playing a game on Saturday evening, the Shepparton flame dimmed in the final quarter.
The Breakers had the home-court advantage behind them and ran out 26-18 winners in the final period.
The Breakers claimed a 72-67 point win and the minor premiership over Wallan on percentage alone.
Eric Miraflores continued his electric form with 22 points.
In their semi-final, the Breakers will face arch-rival Seymour.
Despite being a very different team from the 2022 grand final side that beat the Breakers in the big dance, the fresh-faced side handed Benalla its first season loss in round five.
One thing is for sure: Benalla will be desperate to break the Blasters’ winning streak on Saturday and make it into the 2023 North East CBL Grand Final.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Armstrong said.
“We’ve never beaten them.
“We’re hungry; they’re still hungry. They got a new group.
“I wouldn’t say our form is great, but it’s a new playing field now in finals.
“I’m confident we can adapt and bring our game to another level.”
The semi-final will be played at the Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre at 7.30pm on Saturday.
Benalla’s all-abilities team will be playing at half-time after returning from a tournament in Shepparton.
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