THE Rockingham Flames' men and Kalamunda Eastern Suns' women both recorded strong wins last weekend and now look to keep it going with the Flames facing the Magic this weekend while the Suns have the first of two straight double-headers.

The Orange Autos Rockingham Flames men's team remain solid in second position in the SBL standings after 13 rounds of the 2014 season.

That sees the Flames sit just a game behind the league-leading Geraldton Buccaneers, and three games clear of the third-placed Lakeside Lightning.

The Flames did drop two straight games against East Perth and Cockburn but have since beaten Perry Lakes and Stirling to improve to a 14-5 record and coach Mark Utley was happy with his team's effort last Saturday to beat the Senators.

However, he is fully aware that the Mandurah Magic this Friday night at home will be a big test, and an interesting one given the players that will be coming up against their former teams.

"The Senators are a quality team with three good post players and Throns and Bruton in the backcourt. It was good to get the win even when we didn't shoot the ball well," Utley said.

"We are looking forward to testing ourselves against the Magic. A few of their players are familiar with our rings."

Meanwhile, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns women's team returned to the winner's list last Saturday night against the Perry Lakes Hawks following a loss to the Lakeside Lightning the previous Friday that coach Craig Mansfield was disappointed with.

"The girls responded really well last week. I was very happy with the preparation, focus and intensity we displayed against Hawks. We still have to improve our execution in many areas but this will progress each week," Mansfield said.

"Credit must be given to Hawks as well after playing a tight match with the Slammers the night before, I thought the physical effort they displayed for the back end of a double header was impressive."

The Eastern Suns' chances of being a women's championship contender on the back of last year's grand final appearance really go on the line over the next fortnight.

It starts this weekend up against the Perth Redbacks on Saturday and the Mandurah Magic on Sunday before then facing the Rockingham Flames and Cockburn Cougars the following weekend.

"A challenging fortnight ahead for us with two consecutive double headers. Once we get through this stretch our schedule is paced nicely towards the end of the season and finals," Mansfield said.

"Saturday night we have a much improved Redbacks team and then Sunday lunch time we travel to Mandurah to take on a Magic team that beat us by a point a few weeks ago.

"It is a great opportunity for us to measure our progress against quality opposition and to test our fitness and toughness across two games in 18 hours. I'm excited for the weekend."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Seb Komatsu