ONE of the Lakeside Lightning and Goldfields Giants will break big losing runs in Week 16 of the Men's SBL while the Willetton Tigers look to keep winning on the road in Geraldton and the Stirling Senators try to break into the top two with a crucial double-header.

The Tigers and Senators currently hold third and fourth positions and both want to stay in the hunt for a top two spot and at least consolidate the top four with crucial games in Week 16. Willetton travels to Geraldton while Stirling takes on both the Perry Lakes Hawks and East Perth Eagles.

Both the Hawks and Eagles are battling over eighth position at present with neither able to get on a run to secure a playoff spot leaving the door open still for the chasing South West Slammers and Goldfields Giants.

Perry Lakes and East Perth both have double-headers this weekend with the Hawks battling the Senators and Slammers, and the Eagles taking on the Senators plus the Wolves.

There are tantalising match ups right across the weekend starting on Friday night with the Bethanie Stirling Senators playing the Perry Lakes Hawks at Warwick Stadium and the Texture WA Perth Redbacks facing the Mandurah Magic at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.

Saturday night features two regional matches with the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants playing the Lakeside Lightning at Kambalda Recreation Centre and the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers hosting the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers at Active West Stadium.

The other three Saturday night contests see the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles playing the Bethanie Stirling Senators, the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars facing the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns battling the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves.

Lastly on Sunday, the Perry Lakes Hawks take on the Print Sync South West Slammers and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves play the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles.

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The Senators have been in some stunning form of late having won their last five matches to improve to a 14-6 record in fourth position.

That included a big win over the defending champion Wolfpack last Friday night but the only way Stirling can remain in the top four and stay in the top two hunt is to keep winning.

Things remain tough for the Senators this weekend starting on Friday night at home to a desperate Hawks and then away to an equally determined Eagles on Saturday.

Coach Mike Ellis knows how big of a test both games will be but he has good reason for confidence given the form of his team.

"It's a really big one for us this weekend. If we lose one or two of those, all of a sudden we go from where we are potentially down to sixth or seventh quite easily," Ellis said.

"It's a very big weekend for us and it's going to be a tough one because both those sides are desperate. They are going to come out giving it everything, but we will plan for them to be at their best and give it all we've got."

The Tigers have been in some ominous form of late including last weekend beating the Redbacks by 35 points on the back of a 74-31 second half, before backing up on Sunday with a 29-point win over the Giants.

The previous week they also beat the defending champion Wolves on the back of a big second half and they have now won eight of their last 10 games but it doesn’t get any easier this Saturday night up against the fifth placed Buccaneers in Geraldton.

The Buccs now have a full line-up with imports Maurice Barrow and Carter Cook along with Matthew Adekponya, Jackson Hussey, Mat Wundenberg and Aaron Ralph, and they will still be eyeing off snatching a top four spot.

Willetton is one side the Buccs cold still replace in the top four making Saturday's clash all the more important.

Damien Scott is in his second season with the Tigers and is enjoying the form they are in at the moment ahead of what he knows will be a tough challenge in Geraldton. He is also looking forward to reuniting with Hussey even if it's on opposite teams.

"We got them here last time we played them so now we go up there and the crowd is going to be into it. We just have to stick to our structures and try to run them off the floor a little bit," Scott said.

"I grew up with Jackson playing at Cockburn so I know him pretty well. He has been over to college and he was good before he left and I'm sure he's now even better. I see he is putting up pretty good numbers already.

"He will be a key matchup. Kyle (Armour) will probably match up on him and hopefully we can lock him down and stop him from penetrating and kicking it to their shooters like Ralph and stopping Adekponya on the fast break."

The Giants and Lightning both had high hopes coming into the 2016 season but things have fallen away in the second half of the year with Goldfield currently on a 10-game losing run and Lakeside having lost 12 straight.

That all leads into a clash in Kambalda on Saturday night where one of those streaks will end and for the Giants a win would keep their playoff hopes alive.

Coach Michael Haney is hoping his Giants team pulls together for a win and he hopes playing at a venue they are familiar with and that the Lightning aren’t will help a little.

"It's going to be a game where we haven’t forgotten them smacking us earlier in the season," Haney said.

"We have played at Kambalda four times and they've never even seen the arena so a lot is going in our favour this week. We just have to hope we can stay out of foul trouble, contain their bigs and just have a crack. That's all we can do."

Meanwhile, Lightning coach Sam Oatman is learning that when things go wrong they can really find new ways to bite you. That included a loss last week to the Magic on a desperation three by Trevor Setty that was as questionable as it was remarkable.

However, Oatman is staying positive with his group and is hoping to replicate their 29-point win over the Giants back in Week 6.

"We played really well against them last time. We should be hungry and confident. We’ll need to limit Holmen and Manigault and keep the rest of their guys in check," Oatman said.

"You can’t give up 65 points in a half and expect to win. So, we have no one to blame but ourselves for being in that situation last week. Plus, we should never have let Setty catch the ball. You’ve got to make someone else beat you.

"That being said, there were a number of clock management issues the last three possessions. Plus, I just don’t think it’s possible for someone to catch, step, turn, and shoot all in 0.5 seconds. But, Setty hit a really tough shot. Give him credit."

WEEK 16 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Perry Lakes Hawks, Warwick Stadium 8.30pm
Texture WA Perth Redbacks v Mandurah Magic, Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants v Lakeside Lightning, Kambalda Recreation Centre 7.30pm
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars v Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames, Wally Hagan Stadium 8pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves, Ray Owen Recreation Centre 8.30pm

SUNDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks v Print Sync South West Slammers, Bendat Basketball Centre 2pm
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday