THE Joondalup Wolves, Goldfields Giants, Rockingham Flames and South West Slammers all recorded Game 1 men's quarter-final victories across the weekend to open the 2015 SBL playoffs.

The lone men's Game 1 of the quarter finals on Friday night saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves win a thriller 86-85 against the Perry Lakes Hawks at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Then in the three Saturday night matches, the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants beat the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 104-101 at Neils Hansen Basketball Centre and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames defeated the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 91-82 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers also beat the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 90-83 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The results saw two lower-ranked home teams score Game 1 quarter-final wins in the Giants and Flames while two higher-ranked away sides won in the form of the Wolves and Slammers.

That means that the Buccaneers and Cougars now need to win both their games at home this weekend to advance to the semi finals, while the Giants and Flames need to snatch just one on the road.

Meanwhile, the Wolves and Slammers need just one win from a potential two home matches this weekend with the Hawks and Tigers requiring two road victories to advance.

The playoffs began with some outstanding individual performances as well starting on Friday night with Trian Iliadis top-scoring for the Wolfpack in the win with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Rob Huntington adding 20 points and 12 board on the back of shooting 8-of-12 from the field.

Kevin Davis added 19 points and 12 boards as well for the Wolves while Seb Salinas contributed 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Damian Matacz also had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Bryton Hobbs again did all he could for the Hawks with 30 points, six rebounds and six assists while Ben Purser contributed 20 points, six boards and three assists, and Ben Dixon 10 points, three assists and two rebounds.

Then on Saturday night, again it was the Giants' three stars who led the way to the victory with Jacob Holmen top-scoring with 29 points and six rebounds while shooting 12-of-22 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

Jay Bowie contributed 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Giants as well while Mathiang Muo finished with 21 points and six boards.

Russell Hurst added a crucial 15 points, three rebounds and three assists as well for Goldfields.

Carter Cook ended up top-scoring for the Buccaneers with 26 points, six rebounds and four assists with Bennie Lewis contributing 22 points, eight boards and seven assists.

Aaron Ralph scored 17 points to go with six rebounds and four assists for the Buccs with Cory Cooperwood contributing 14 points and three boards and Luke Wrensted 12 points and three assists.

Cooper Land ended up leading the way for the Flames with 29 points, 16 rebounds and four assists while Ryan Godfrey contributed 22 points, Taylor Land 18 points, eight assists and five boards, and Tom Remmerswaal 12 points to go with six rebounds.

Eric Milam top-scored for the Cougars with 22 points and 17 rebounds with Najee Lane adding 19 points and 10 boards, Gavin Field 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Julian Pesava 15 points and nine boards.

Tre Nichols top-scored for the Slammers with 27 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals with Jordan Hickert adding 17 points and six boards, and Wade Hitchcock 14 points, three blocked shots and two rebounds.

The return of playing-coach Ty Harrelson was a welcome one for South West and he contributed 10 points, four rebounds and four assists while Trent Worthington also had 10 points and eight boards, and Brian Voelkel seven points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Damien Scott top-scored for the Tigers with 18 points and six rebounds while Kyle Armour contributed 16 points, six boards and four assists.

Ephrem Davis added 15 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks for Willetton while Nic Cody finished with 13 points and six boards, and Corey Easley 11 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 85 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 86

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 104 defeated S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 101
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 91 defeated Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 82
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 83 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 90

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach