IF THE Goldfields Giants and Stirling Senators want to keep their men's SBL playoff hopes alive in 2015 then this could be the deciding weekend with both playing a double and taking on one another on Saturday night, while the Perth Redbacks need to beat the defending champions as well.

The Giants, Senators and Redbacks all sit just outside the top eight currently entering the Week 15 men's SBL action and with Goldfields to play the Cockburn Cougars on Sunday and Stirling facing the Lakeside Lightning on Friday either side of playing another on Saturday night, it could be a crucial round to determine where they might finish in 2015.

The same can be said for the Redbacks who take on the defending champion Eagles on Saturday night with them needing to win to stay alive while there are some fascinating match ups between teams inside the top eight as well.

The Week 15 men's action begins on Friday night with the Lakeside Lightning playing the Bethanie Stirling Senators at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames battling the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

There are then five big matches on Saturday night starting at 7.30pm with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers playing the Mandurah Magic at Active West Stadium and the Bethanie Stirling Senators hosting the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Warwick Leisure Centre.

Then at 8pm on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves play the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Joondalup Basketball Stadium, the Perry Lakes Hawks face the Lakeside Lightning at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers take on the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Then finally the round concludes with two games on Sunday, with the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars playing the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Wally Hagan Stadium at noon and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns taking on the Perry Lakes Hawks at Ray Owen Sports Centre at 2pm.

Starting on Friday night, the Lightning do battle with the Senators with plenty at stake as both teams continue to fight over eighth position and a playoff position.

Lakeside currently holds eighth position at 8-10 but Stirling isn’t far behind at 6-11 and a Senators victory on Friday would really light up the battle for that last playoff position, while a Lightning win would go a long way to guaranteeing their playoff spot.

The Lightning and Senators met earlier this season back in Week 7 in a remarkable contest that ended up seeing Stirling win thanks to an incredible buzzer-beat from Senators captain Cody Ellis.

The Flames then host the on-fire Cougars with Rockingham celebrating the 450th SBL appearance of Travis Moore as he becomes just the third player in history to achieve the milestone.

The Flames not only have the motivation of trying to win to celebrate that milestone, but to consolidate their position inside the top eight but it won't be easy up against the Cougars.

Cockburn has been the great surprise packets of 2015 and the Cougars are on an eight-game winning streak following a thumping 26-point win over the Willetton Tigers last Saturday night.

That sees Cockburn sit on an impressive 13-6 record to be two games clear in fourth position of the chasing Mandurah Magic, and right in touch of replacing the South West Slammers in third spot.

The Cougars and Flames could very well end up meeting in the playoffs as well so Friday night's battle has plenty riding on it.

Back in Week 4 at Wally Hagan Stadium the Flames last played the Cougars and that was a remarkable thriller with Rockingham ending up winning 107-106.

Then on Saturday night, the Buccaneers host the Magic in yet another fascinating match up with plenty riding on the result for both teams.

The Buccs have a terrific 16-3 record but at present that's only good enough for second position behind the Wolves so they do need to keep winning as they eye off the minor premiership.

Meanwhile, the Magic still have their sights set on a top four spot but first of all need to guarantee a playoff position and a win in Geraldton on Saturday night would go a long way to doing that.

The Magic enter the contest at 11-7 sitting two games behind the fourth placed Cougars but a game clear of the sixth placed Rockingham Flames.

Way back in the opening round of the season the Buccaneers and Magic last played and it was a tight affair that Sunday afternoon, with the Buccs ending up winning 105-103 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Tigers host the Eastern Suns at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the home team desperate to bounce back with a win to consolidate their top eight position, while Kalamunda is just trying to get off the bottom of the standings.

The two teams met back in Week 7 at Ray Owen Sports Centre and in that contest it was the Tigers who prevailed 105-83.

The Giants and Senators are both still right in the hunt for eighth position with Goldfields having found some strong form of late to revitalise their season on the back of their three stars, Jay Bowie, Jacob Holmen and Mathiang Muo.

The Giants now enter Week 15 on a 7-11 to record to be breathing down the neck of the Lightning and they might even be able to snatch eighth spot by Saturday night with a win over the Senators, and depending on what happens between Lakeside and Stirling on Friday to open the round.

Back in Week 6 the two teams met at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium and in that contest it was the Senators who came away from Kalgoorlie with a four-point victory.

The crucial matches for the weekend continues at Joondalup Basketball Stadium with the league-leading Wolves hosting the third-placed Slammers.

The Wolfpack lost surprisingly to Perry Lakes last Friday night but bounced back with a big win over Rockingham on Saturday to consolidate top position with a 17-3 record, but the Wolves do need to keep winning with the Buccaneers breathing down their neck.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when the Slammers were sitting atop the table as well, but they have now lost four of their last five games to have slipped to a 13-5 record. However, a win on Saturday would keep them in touch for a top two spot, and consolidate them in the top four.

Back in Week 5 the two teams played at Eaton Recreation Centre with the Wolfpack recording a 109-93 road victory.

The Eagles and Redbacks have another intriguing battle on Saturday night as well with Perth needing to win and improve on its 6-12 record to keep its playoff hopes alive, while the defending champion East Perth can continue to be nuisance value having found some improved form in recent weeks.

The Eagles and Redbacks played back in Week 4 at Curtin Stadium with Perth coming away with a narrow 85-82 victory.

The last game on Saturday night pits the Hawks up against the Lightning. Lakeside will be coming off playing Stirling in a crucial match on Friday meaning the Lightning will either need to bounce back to hold its spot in the eight, or could shoot further clear of those chasing down its spot.

Meanwhile, if Perry Lakes wants to be any hope of making playoffs it can't afford too many more losses this season and after beating the Joondalup Wolves by 26 points last Friday night with the return of Bryton Hobbs, the Hawks could very well be capable of still making a run.

The Hawks and Lightning played back in Week 5 and it was Lakeside who prevailed in that contest beating Rockingham 107-100 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Finally on Sunday, the Cougars back up their game against the Flames on Friday and could very well be shooting for a 10th straight win up against a Giants team that needs to keep winning to keep their season alive no matter what happens against the Senators on Saturday.

The two teams last met back in Week 8 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium but that was before the Cougars caught fire, and the Giants recorded a 110-102 victory.

Then the last game of the round pits the Eastern Suns up against the Hawks with Perry Lakes needing to win to stay alive, but Kalamunda looking to finish its season on a high and try to end its eight-game losing streak.

Back in Week 10, the Suns and Hawks met at Bendat Basketball Centre and in that match up Perry Lakes beat Cockburn 115-103.

WEEK 15 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Lakeside Recreation Centre 8.30pm
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SATURDAY
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers v Mandurah Magic, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Warwick Leisure Centre 7.30pm
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 8pm
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Perth Redbacks, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Lakeside Lightning, Bendat Basketball Centre 8pm
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Willetton Basketball Stadium 8pm

SUNDAY
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Wally Hagan Stadium 12pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perry Lakes Hawks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by AND Media