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BENDIGO Braves and Lady Braves are grand final bound following wins in their Country Basketball League (CBL) semi-finals on Saturday night.
The Braves defeated Mildura Heat 86-67 at Bendigo Stadium to set up a grand final showdown against Horsham Hornets next Saturday night.
The Lady Braves will also play Horsham in a grand final after defeating Swan Hill Flyers 69-52.
As he has done all season, Tanner Rayner led the Braves on the scoreboard with a game-breaking 28 points, above his season average of 20.38 points per game.
His Braves SEABL team-mate Matt Andronicos was a handful for the Heat and finished with 18 points, while Lewis Beks chimed in with 11.
Dallas Brown led the way for the Heat with 11 points.
The Braves are 1-1 in games played against Horsham and defeated the Hornets 75-65 in their most recent meeting at Bendigo Stadium.
Horsham survived a scare in their semi-final against Maryborough Blazers, but eventually got the win 68-62.
Tim Pickert scored 20 for the victorious Hornets, while Dale Hickey scored for the Blazers with 17.
Meanwhile, the Lady Braves warmed up for a championship decider against the Hornets with a convincing 17-point win against Swan Hill.
A solid team effort was led by Caitlin McLachlan, who top scored with 13 points.
Madeline Sexton, who leads all Lady Braves players this season with13.22 points per game, chipped in with 11 points, while young star Danielle O’Toole finished with 11.
The Lady Hornets 57-47 semi-final win over Kyneton Tigers was highlighted by an 18-point game from Caitlin Storey.
Both grand finals will be played at Horsham.
Results
Bendigo Braves defeated Mildura Heat 86-67 (Braves: Tanner Rayner 28, Matt Andronicos 18, Lewis Beks 11, Jack White 8; Heat: Dallas Brown 17, Jay Madigan 10, Mitchell Undy).
Bendigo Lady Braves defeated Swan Hill Flyers 69-52 (Braves: Caitlin McLachlan 13, Madeline Sexton 11, Danielle O’Toole 9, Hayley Harrington 7; Flyers: Madeleine Jeans 20, Kelsey McCoy 13. Tess Denham 8).