THE tone will be set for a crucial Week 15 in the Men's SBL on Friday night with a battle of the second and third placed teams along with the Rockingham Flames and Perry Lakes Hawks needing to win to remain in the top eight.

That all leads into a big night on Saturday with five matches that includes the Slammers and Eagles doing battle over staying in the playoff hunt, the Redbacks and Tigers fighting over a top four spot, the Buccs trying to break into that top four and the Giants beginning a tough 18 hours.

The three matches on Friday night sees the Bethanie Stirling Senators taking on the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves, the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames facing the Print Sync South West Slammers and the Perry Lakes Hawks hosting the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars.

Then on Saturday night, it begins with the two regional teams in battle with the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants hitting the road to face the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves while the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers host the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Print Sync South West Slammers also face the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles, the Texture WA Perth Redbacks play the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers and the Mandurah Magic battle the Lakeside Lightning.

Lastly on Sunday, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers host the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants.

Friday night sees the third placed Senators look to test themselves again up against the second placed defending champion Wolves.

When they last met back in Week 10 it was the Wolfpack who prevailed by 18 points at HBF Arena but Stirling is now in some tremendous form with a four-game winning streak to have improved to a 13-6 record in third spot.

The Wolves suffered a surprise loss to the Tigers last Friday despite leading at half-time but they bounced back on Saturday beating the Lightning by nine points.

With a battle of NBL forwards Cody Ellis and Greg Hire to go with the likes of Corban Wroe, Jayden Coburn, AJ Majstrovich and Kyle Lindbergh from the Senators taking on Kevin Davis, Seb Salinas, Rob Huntington and Damian Matacz from the Wolves, it's going to be a contest well worth checking out.

The Flames then host the Slammers at Mike Barnett Sports Complex with Rockingham needing to back up its win over the Lightning last week to remain in the top eight.

If the Slammers are any chance of staying in the playoff race they need to start stringing wins together and that challenge begins against the Flames with South West having lost twice last weekend to the Buccs and Eastern Suns.

Finally on Friday night, the Hawks face a big test against the Cougars at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Cockburn has improved to top spot on the back of a six-game winning streak to be in tremendous form but Perry Lakes simply needs to win to avoid the potential of ending the round outside the top eight.

The Hawks have now lost their last three games since an impressive win over the Tigers to slip to 8-11. Despite the return of star guard Bryton Hobbs last Friday, they were no match for the Redbacks losing by 20.

Perry Lakes coach Charles Nix is looking forward to the challenge of the Cougars as the Hawks try to prove themselves worthy of a playoff spot.

"We are happy that we've got the games coming up that we do. We've got a really tough schedule against the top teams and if we make playoffs it's because we deserve it," Nix said.

"Our run probably started last week with a Friday night in Bunbury and then playing the Wolves at home on the Sunday.

"Then this week we played the Redbacks who I think are the form team of the competition. Now we've got Cougars. We have a tough run but we are looking forward to the challenge and we'll end up where we deserve."

Then on Saturday night, the Wolves host the Giants at Joondalup Basketball Stadium with the Wolfpack coming off the clash with the Senators on Friday while Goldfields heads to Perth desperate to end an eight-game losing run to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The Buccs host the Eastern Suns at Active West Stadium. A win will improve Geraldton to 14-7 and could move them into the top four but the Suns won't be a push over and they have done well to win four of their last seven games including two last weekend over Magic and Slammers.

The Slammers host the Eagles at Eaton Recreation Centre with both teams trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.

South West will be coming off playing the Flames on Friday while East Perth has now won six of its last nine games to be in playoff contention coinciding with the arrival of Tom Jervis and Sunday Dech.

A win on Saturday and the Eagles could force their way into eighth spot if the Hawks also lose to the Cougars on Friday. But the Slammers with two wins in 24 hours could remain a genuine playoff shot.

The Redbacks have every right to claims of being the form team of the competition and despite being without captain Joel Wagner with an ankle injury suffered on Friday night, they scored two strong wins last weekend over the Hawks and Eagles.

Perth is currently on a five-game winning streak leading into Saturday's clash with an also in-form Tigers. Willetton might have lost to the Cougars last Saturday, but they beat the Wolves the previous night and currently sit in fourth spot at 12-6.

The Tigers could consolidate that top four spot with a win on Saturday at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.

But a victory for the Redbacks would see them close on that top four position with coach Nik Lackovic looking forward to the challenge the Tigers present particularly in the absence of Wagner.

"The league is so even and their win over the Wolves shows that. I really believe there are at least eight to 10 teams that can beat anyone on any given night as indicated by that game," Lackovic said.

"Willetton is playing at a high level and I saw them play a few weeks ago getting ready for us to play them, and they bring a lot of energy and they share the ball well. They execute really well and they are good at what they are good at, and don't really go outside of the lines there."

The last game of Saturday night pits two teams desperate for a win up against one another with the Magic hosting the Lightning at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Mandurah enters the clash on a seven-game losing run while Lakeside has lost 11 straight. They both sit on 4-14 records as seasons that promised plenty have petered out.

Lightning coach Sam Oatman is hoping his group throws everything at getting the drought breaking win on Saturday night.

"Much like us, Mandurah has been struggling to get wins this season," Oatman said.

"They came from behind and beat us earlier in the season on our home floor, so our guys should really be looking forward to this one."

Lastly on Sunday afternoon, the Tigers host the Giants at Willetton Basketball Stadium with Willetton having played the Redbacks on Saturday night, and the Giants having faced the Wolves on Saturday. The Tigers need to win to stay in the top four and the Giants to keep their playoff hopes alive.

WEEK 15 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves, Warwick Stadium 8.30pm
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames v Print Sync South West Slammers, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars, Bendat Basketball Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 7.30pm
S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Print Sync South West Slammers v Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles, Eaton Recreation Centre 8pm
Texture WA Perth Redbacks v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre 8pm
Mandurah Magic v Lakeside Lightning, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SUNDAY
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Willetton Basketball Stadium 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Deprimo Photography