THE Willetton Tigers have a real chance to close the gap on the top two teams taking on both the Joondalup Wolves and Cockburn Cougars inside 24 hours in Week 14 of the Men's SBL while the Lightning, Flames and Giants are all desperate to end their losing slides.

The Tigers have won nine of their last 11 Men's SBL matches to improve to third position and they take on the second placed Cougars and league leading defending champion Wolves on Friday and Saturday night this week in what could give a great indication of their championship credentials.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale the Flames look to consolidate a playoff spot by stopping a two-game losing run with the Lightning having two chances to stop a nine-game losing streak and the Giants having a home game against the in-form Senators trying to avoid losing eight straight.

There are three matches on Friday night to open Week 14 with the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers playing the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves, the Texture WA Perth Redbacks taking on the Perry Lakes Hawks and the Lakeside Lightning facing the Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames.

The Tigers have been in some strong form of late and have a team that runs deep including Damien Scott, Jay Bowie, Kyle Armour, Nic Cody, Charles Funches and company.

But taking on the defending champion Wolfpack is a whole different story and they remain on top of the standings at 13-2 having won their last five matches to remain the favourites to make it back to back titles.

The Redbacks and Hawks also do battle on Friday night in another clash of two teams inside the top eight and who want to stay there.

Perth is in some outstanding form of late having won seven of its last eight matches coinciding with the arrival of Michael Vigor. That has put the Redbacks into sixth position at 9-7 and on current form they are every chance to push for a top four spot.

But the Hawks remain a dangerous outfit and despite losing twice last weekend to the Wolves and Slammers, they remain in eighth spot at 8-10. But with the Eagles breathing down their neck they can't afford to keep losing.

The Lightning and Flames also clash on Friday with both teams looking to end losing slides.

It has been less severe so far for Rockingham with the Flames having just lost their last two but that has seen them slip to seventh spot at 10-8.

Coach Mark Utley was frustrated with last Saturday night's loss at home to the Senators and is hoping for a much improved effort on Friday against the Lightning, particularly at the free-throw line.

"We lost a close game against Stirling to make it two on the bounce," Utley said.

"We just struggled to put a run together having worked hard to put people in the right spots but missing shots we normally make. Third week in a row that we were below average at the foul line and that will be our focus before tackling Lakeside this weekend."

Meanwhile, things have continued to go from bad to worse for the Lightning having lost nine in succession to now sit with a 4-12 record coming into the clash with the Flames.

Coach Sam Oatman knows his team can score, but he needs a big effort at both ends particularly from imports Daniel Alexander and TJ Hallice up against the Flames' Cooper Land and Chudier Pal.

"They dominated inside in game one against us. Cooper Land and Pal really took it to us. We’ve got to protect the paint and win the rebounding battle if we want to win this one," Oatman said.

"We’ve also got to take care of the ball and try to get a good shot on every possession. We need Daniel Alexander and TJ Hallice to play well. We have confidence in them to lead us on both ends of the floor."

It's then a massive Saturday night made up of six matches starting with the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants taking on the Bethanie Stirling Senators and the Print Sync South West Slammers facing the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers.

The Senators make the trip to Kalgoorlie in good form having won their last three matches to improve to fourth spot but they do need to keep winning to stay there ahead of the Buccaneers.

The Giants, meanwhile, have lost seven matches in-a-row and many more will see them fall out of the playoff hunt altogether.

They currently sit in 10th spot at 6-11 and coach Michael Haney knows it's getting to make or break time, but it will take a much better effort than what Goldfields delivered last week at home to the Redbacks.

"We had another tough one vs Perth this past weekend. The boys competed but we continue to make the same mistakes on both sides of the court that hurt us against the top sides," Haney said.

"Both teams had a main player in early foul trouble and they were able to manage it better than we were! Give credit to the Redbacks they are playing good basketball and a team who is playing with a lot of confidence behind the return of Vigor.

"We will be anxious to get back in front of our great fans this weekend when we welcome Stirling. We will be able to learn a lot from our first matchup five weeks ago and will look to get a must needed win this weekend!"

The Slammers host the Buccs at Eaton Recreation Centre with South West also running out of time to stay in the playoff hunt at 5-10. If they can start stringing wins together on the back of Royal Crouch and Tre Nichols then they are still alive, but the Buccs won't be easy even away from home.

The Buccaneers have won their last two and have Jackson Hussey into an already strong line-up so they will begin their road double on Saturday night looking for an important win to close in on fourth spot.

Also on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup Wolves play the Lakeside Lightning, the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles take on the Texture WA Perth Redbacks, the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars battle the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers and the Mandurah Magic tackle the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

If the Lightning's task of getting back to the winner's list wasn’t hard enough against the Flames on Friday, it's then on to the Wolves on Saturday night.

The Wolfpack will also be coming off a game against the Tigers, but Oatman is fully aware how big of a task the Lightning face.

"We’ll have to handle ball screens much better and control the glass in order to win," Oatman said.

"Offensively, we need to be strong with the ball and handle their pressure. We’ll also need to hit open shots and free throws. Mostly, we just need to compete on every possession."

The Eagles and Redbacks then do battle in another game with plenty on the line. Perth will be coming off playing the Hawks on Saturday night, while the Eagles need to start stringing wins together to break into the top eight.

With Tom Jervis and Sunday Dech into a line-up that includes Drew Williamson, Rhys Vague and Thomas Korf is a strong one, but they started the year slowly without them and now sit at 7-10 outside the top eight so a win over the Redbacks will be crucial for their playoff hopes.

It's yet another tantalising game also on Saturday when the Cougars host the Tigers. Cockburn remains in second position at 14-3 with a five-game winning run and if they keep posting wins they will continue to put pressure on the league leading Wolves.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will have played the Wolves on Friday night so will either come into Saturday night full of confidence and solid in third spot, or desperate to bounce back to hold on to a place in the top four.

Saturday night will conclude with the Magic hosting the Suns and Mandurah desperate to end a six-game losing run, but Kalamunda will see it as a chance for its third win of the season and to move a step closer to getting off the bottom of the table.

Lastly there are two matches on Sunday afternoon with Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles taking on the S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns play the Print Sync South West Slammers.

The Eagles and Buccs will have both played on Saturday night with a short turnaround, but Sunday's clash again has plenty at stake as East Perth try to break into the top eight and Geraldton look to fight into the top four.

The round will then conclude with the Eastern Suns hosting the Slammers, and again both will have played on Saturday night. Kalamunda could get off the bottom with a win depending on other results while South West's playoff hopes likely rest on getting an important victory.

WEEK 14 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves, Willetton Basketball Stadium 8.30pm
Texture WA Perth Redbacks v Perry Lakes Hawks, Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre 8.30pm
Lakeside Lightning v Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames, Lakeside Recreation Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Niels Hansen Sports Complex 7.30pm
Print Sync South West Slammers v S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers, Eaton Recreation Centre 7.30pm
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves v Lakeside Lightning, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 8pm
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Texture WA Perth Redbacks, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Wally Hagan Stadium 8pm
Mandurah Magic v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SUNDAY
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 12pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Print Sync South West Slammers, Ray Owen Recreation Centre 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday