PORTLAND weren’t going to be denied on their captain’s special day, as they were simply dominant in their win over Hamilton in Davey Denboer’s 100th Country Basketball League game.

The Coasters were completely in control from start to finish on their home court at Portland Basketball Stadium, eventually winning 96-54.

The first quarter set the tone, as they jumped out the gates with an absurd 31-8 scoreline to close the first 10 minutes of play.

They were dominant in each of the next two quarters as well, before the Hurricanes managed to slightly trim the margin back in the final term.

Nathan Hardingham was his usual dominant self on the inside, dropping 24 points, and he was complimented by fellow big man Brad Clark (14 points) and guard Toby Jennings (18 points) who were able to carry the bulk of the scoring load.

The Coasters’ defence was impregnable at times, with the Hurricanes at times going several minutes without scoring.

For Denboer, this team performance was a great way to celebrate reaching triple digits.

“It was a very pleasing win, we jumped out the blocks to be up 6-0 after three possessions and that probably set the tone and we were just able to keep building on that,” Denboer said.

“That was the focus before the game was coming out the gates really strong and we were able to do that.

“Those losses (against Terang and Colac) hurt early on but I think they were experiences we needed to have, so it was good to go out there and win pretty convincingly this time around.

“We’re pretty keen to get two more wins on the board in those last two games, I think we’re probably starting to play our best basketball at the right time leading in to finals.”

Denboer said he first started playing at a CBL level at the age of “15 or 16” and said it’s been an incredible journey since then.

“I’ve had plenty of good coaches over the years and they deserve a lot of the credit for where I’ve been able to get to today and who have taught me all the things I’ve needed to know.

“There’s nothing that really sticks out in my mind as a key moment, it’s just always a lot of fun being out there playing with your mates, that’s what I loved about it.”

Denboer is off to Cairns shortly after the completion of the season with a couple of ex-Portlanders also living over there, but he said a return to CBL basketball isn’t off the table.

“We’ll see what happens, I’m not sure how long I’m going to be living over there, but I’ll be back in town for a few weeks here and there,” he said.

“If it lines up that I can play a game or two I will but I’m certainly not looking to take anyone’s spot.”