Giant effort needed against former star (Round 5 men's preview)
Goldfields Giants got their faltering men's State Basketball League season back on course last weekend but face an even bigger test against Willetton Tigers on Saturday.
The Giants broke a three-game losing skid with a shock win at heated rivals Geraldton and will be desperate to back that performance up with a win that could see them climb into the top eight.
The game will be an emotional homecoming for Tigers guard Shamus Ballantyne, a key player in Goldfields' 2007 and 2008 championships who has this season made a comeback from a two-year hiatus forced on him by a cancer diagnosis.
Ballantyne, who is averaging 5.8 assists per game, will be hoping to help seventh placed Willetton improve on a mixed weekend which saw it beat struggling Rockingham but lose to local rivals Cockburn.
Unbeaten league leaders Lakeside Lightning face their first true test of the season when they host Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday.
The Lightning lost only four games in 2011 with three of those defeats against Perry Lakes, including their elimination in the semi-final series, and will be desperate to show the sixth placed Hawks are no longer their bogey side.
New Cockburn import Jeremiah Wilson played a crucial role in that win against the Tigers and he'll be hoping to lead his side to a comfortable win against the struggling South West Slammers.
The Slammers have lost three in a row and will be looking to end that with victory against the Cougars or Kalamunda Eastern Suns, who suffered a shock defeat to East Perth last week.
The Eagles will be hoping to keep up their improvement by upsetting second placed Perth and an inconsistent Geraldton, which also faces the winless Flames on Sunday.
Rockingham will also be a heavy underdog against southern rivals Mandurah on Friday, with the Magic sitting in fourth spot after winning three of their past four games.
Defending champion Wanneroo put its first loss of the season behind it to smash Perry Lakes last week and will be confident of a similar result against Stirling.
The Senators remain in eighth spot despite an embarrassing 33-point home loss to Lakeside last Thursday.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Darren Speedie (Vision Inspired Photography)
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