Storm end Big V campaigns in glory and heartache

THE basketball season has ended with mixed results for two of the Bellarine Storm’s senior sides in a largely successful 2022 campaign.

Bellarine’s men were crowned champions of the Big V’s Division One competition with a 2-0 series win over fellow country side Shepparton, while the Storm’s Youth League Two women’s side went down in straight sets to Coburg in its own Big V Grand Final.

The Storm’s men’s outfit led by head coach Luke Beauglehall finished fourth in the regular season standings, but a strong run home provided the catalyst for the Drysdale-based side defeating the Shepparton Gators 63-60 in Game One and then 67-75 away from home in Game Two to claim the title.

“Winning the Grand Final was a true reflection of all the hard work that we had put in over the season,” Beauglehall said.

“To be able to put in the 9-10 months of work over the year, then to play at the pointy end of the season and gel together the way we did was brilliant.

Rohan Jarvie averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in the series to claim the Finals MVP.

David Smith and his women’s Youth League Two side would ultimately fall just short of title success to the Coburg Giants.

The Storm went down heavy-handedly to the Giants in Game One 91-73 and were unable to bounce back in subsequent Game Two, falling to Coburg 70-75.

Smith said despite the unfortunate outcome, he and the club were excited to hit the ground running in 2023.

“Given the fact this was Bellarine’s first season with a side in this competition, it speaks volumes to the effort this squad has put in this season.

“We’ll definitely look at the prospect of going up to Youth League 1 via the nomination process, if not it won’t be a huge loss, but it would be nice to square off with some more higher quality sides for sure.

“It was fantastic to get through a full season though, and we can’t wait to do it again.”

Smith added the leadership of Carly Sanders and Gemma Morrison was important to the squad all season.