PORTLAND has secured its spot in the Country Basketball League’s men’s finals for the 2023-24 season, with two strong victories to cap off the regular season.

The Coasters hosted Terang in their final home game for the season on Saturday evening and were able to come away with a massive victory 97-61.

An inspired first quarter saw Portland leap to a 34-16 advantage with their dominance on the inside evident from the outset as Nathan Hardingham and Brad Clark made their presence felt on the scoreboard.

The Tornadoes were able to get on their feet in the second quarter, but the resistance proved short-lived as Portland’s dominance resumed through the second and third quarter.

Hardingham finished with 29 points on the night, while Clark had 20 and Toby Jennings chimed in with 10.

For their coach Hayden Annett, this was a win his side needed to have.

“We’ve spoken about beating the teams we should beat and I think this a team we should beat so it’s a very pleasing result,” he said.

“Terang has a strength, and it’s their three-point shooting, they’ve made more of them than any other side in the comp, so we knew we had to take that away from them.

“On the flipside, our strength is getting feet in the paint and using our height and our strength to our advantage.”

Charlie Piergrosse was named the player of the match, and while Annett said it wasn’t his absolute best game of the season, he had once again showcased his flexibility and transitioned well into the CBL program.

“He came into the season as a post player whose strength was in that facet of the game but coming into this team with Brad and ‘Nath’ already filling that role that position was kind of taken,” he said.

“He’s had to find new ways to be effective and while he’s still got plenty of room to grow he’s shown some very pleasing signs at this early stage.”

Sunday saw the Coasters outlast Ararat 87-76, with Hardingham again dominant for his 28 points while guards Jennings and Tom Burns stepped up to have 20 apiece.

Despite their position on the ladder, the Redbacks showed plenty of fight throughout the contest, trailing by just one point at the main break before Portland extended their lead over the remaining two quarters.

Finals outlook

Despite there being two games to go in the men’s competition, both the men’s and women’s finalists are locked in for this season, with Portland’s women finishing second while the men finished third.

It sets up a home final for Portland against Mount Gambier in the women’s competition, while Portland will travel to Horsham to take on a Hornets side who they went 2-0 against in the regular season.

The other results from the weekend saw Ararat’s men’s side defeat Millicent 89-69 in what proved to be a decisive matchup as Millicent missed out finals by just one game.

Elsewhere, Mount Gambier defeated Colac 82-75 while Horsham scrapped past Warrnambool 68-66.

Sunday saw Mount Gambier roll Terang 95-67, while Horsham again just got over the line winning 73-71 against Millicent.

In the women’s competition, Saturday saw Mount Gambier comfortably defeat Colac 94-70, while Warrnambool defeated Horsham 64-56.

Sunday’s lone matchup saw the Hornets get over the line against Millicent 66-62.

The first round of the finals will be the weekend after this.