Hawks, Eagles headline a week of season defining games (Men's SBL Preview)
The high-flying Perry Lakes Hawks will be out to keep up the pressure on league-leading Lakeside when they open round eight of the Men’s State Basketball League tonight.
The Hawks host Stirling at the WA Basketball Centre in one of four fixtures on a blockbuster Friday night schedule before taking on East Perth in what is expected to be a tough encounter when second meets third on Saturday.
Friday’s other games see top-eight rivals South West (eighth) and Perth Redbacks (fifth) meet at Eaton, and Mandurah (sixth) host Willetton (fourth).
East Perth will start warm favourites against Rockingham, who have won two of their past three games but sit in 12th place after a slow start to the season.
Lakeside will be expected to maintain their place on top of the ladder on Saturday with a win away to struggling Goldfields, who have lost their past six games following a healthy 2-1 start to the season.
Surprisingly, the Giants are yet to win in four games on their home court this season.
Geraldton are knocking on the door of the top eight and will fancy themselves as a real chance to upset seventh-placed Wanneroo at Joondalup.
Perth and Mandurah meet on Saturday in what will be a survival of the fittest after both sides play on Friday night, while reigning champions Cockburn will have the fresher legs against Stirling.
The Cougars have struggled to reproduce last year’s form with just two wins from their opening 10 games, but are coming off a big win over Goldfields last week.
Kalamunda will be looking to build on last week’s positive result after NBA hopeful Luke Nevill inspired them to their first win of the season last week, snapping an eight-game losing streak.
Nevill has quickly imposed himself in four games for the Suns, averaging a league-best 33.0 points a game and 15.3 rebounds, which has him sitting behind only Lakeside’s rebound king Jarrad Prue (20.2).
Geraldton travel to Rockingham for the second game of their two-legged road trip in a standalone fixture on Sunday.
Article by Shayne Hope
Photo by Clare Chappell
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