It was a close call, but Geelong has bolted down second place on the Big V Division One men’s ladder.

Pushed all the way in its road game against Coburg on Saturday, Geelong needed a 21-14 fourth quarter to claim an 87-84 win.

With just three games to go in the regular season, Geelong (14-3) cannot be moved from second place on the ladder and will go into the playoffs as a high seed.

In a basket-for-basket game, Geelong again relied on big efforts from veterans Paul Hutchison (17 points, six assists) and Seb Loader (17 points, 15 rebounds).

Guards Ben Suchanek (11 points) and Keith Harrison (11 points) also played important roles in something of a shared offensive load.

Geelong is on the road again this Saturday against third-placed Sunbury (10-6).

The Geelong Lady Cats’ disappointing season continued with a home loss to Eltham at The Arena on Saturday night.

Although in with a big chance of winning the game, the Lady Cats went down, 69-58, for their ninth straight loss of the Big V Championship women’s season.

Trailing 41-31 at the half, the Lady Cats were forced to play catch-up, but could not bridge the gap despite the efforts of Candice Rogers (14 points) and Prue Kenny (14 points).

Stuck in seventh place on the ladder, the Lady Cats (4-14) will be looking to snap their losing streak on the road against winless Bulleen (0-18) on Sunday.

The playoff hopes of the Geelong Big V Youth League (2) men’s team continue to hang in the balance after a 91-63 road loss to Latrobe City on Saturday.

Facd with a 46-21 half-time deficit, Geelong finished with just two scorers in double-figures as Shane Hunter (11 points) and Simon Evans (10 points) led the way.

Geelong (8-11) has dropped four straight games to jeopardise its finals hopes and badly needs a win on the road to Sunbury (7-10) on Sunday.