Townsville Heat v Cairns Marlins, Sat 7:00pm @ Townsville-  Both the Heat and Marlins will enter the ring very hopeful of a win and a trip to Rockhampton next weekend for a chance at the State title.  The fact of the matter is though, he who slips up in this game will hang up their boots for the year.  It’s a do-or-die situation with the teams splitting their games this year (In Round 5, the Heat won 81-79; then in Round 13, the Marlins bounced back to win 102-83).  Looking at these results suggests that the Marlins will enter as favourites, however the Marlins will carry their loss to the Rockets (85-92) into the game from last weekend.  The Heat are on a run of 2 wins and are hungry for a chance at a title, as this has eluded them in recent years with the team falling well short.  The Cedar brothers are playing well and Goodwin is capable of anything (as shown with 42pts against the Suns in early July).  The Marlins however, are defending a State and National title and the thought of this could be the difference.  Cook has been a clear standout this year and will hit 25pts on an off night.  The Heat will take the home court advantage and try to exploit the Marlins shabby record on the road this year, having lost 5 of 9 away games in ’08.

Northside Wizards v Brisbane Capitals, Sat 7:00pm @ Boondall-  Without hinging a teams fortunes on a single player, the Wizards Tragardh could prove the difference in this game.  As the Leagues highest performing player this season (38ppg, 14.6rpg, 3.4apg) with a season high of 67pts against the Mountaineers, he could push the Wizards to a well deserved Semi Final berth.  The Wizards kicked their season off on the right foot in Round 1 with a win over the Capitals (108-97).  The Capitals then bounced back in Round 14 with a 101-96 win over the Wizards, with the question needing to be asked as to whether this was because Tragardh was not playing?  Sykes has proven his worth this year also for the Wizards, and the Capitals have their work cut out for them here.  There seems to be a lot of interest in the Capitals this weekend.  The team resurrected their year after a having 4 losses to their name by Round 5.  Since then, the team has added Rychart who has been powerful at both ends of the court and have depth which could outrun the Wizards if this one is close at the final bend.  Shaw will carry strength for the Capitals and if Taylor and Beak can play the seamless game they showed in the teams win over the Thunder last week, a trip to Rocky is almost a certainty. 

South West Metro Pirates v Logan Thunder, Sat 8:00pm @ Runcorn-  The Pirates are the team that held the top position on the ladder for a long stretch this season.  They were competition front-runners from Rounds 7 thru 11 and have showed they are up to any challenge thrown at them.  Teys has grown out of his shell this year and has no limit to his range, with player/coach Cameron proving the difference in getting the team over the line on more than one occasion this year.  The Pirates have walked away victorious in both times these two faced off this year (In Round 1 they won 98-82, and then backed this up in Round 15 with a convincing 105-76 win).  The team was bumped out of a Grand Final showdown in Cairns last year by the Goannas and won’t want a repeat here.  They will face the Thunder who have produced a mixed bag of results this year.  The team is very lucky to have obtained a finals berth, after a three-way tie saw them pop out ahead of the Goannas and Mountaineers.  Green has the ability to carve an opposition to pieces and has done so many times this year.  If he can hit his average of 31ppg, 12rpg, 6apg and if Broom, Gureckis, Ammar and Meyerding can band together, they may just have the grunt to sneak over the line.