NOT to say that there aren’t tremendous men's SBL match ups on Friday and Saturday nights, but Sunday features four enthralling contests with Perry Lakes playing Goldfields, Joondalup batting Mandurah, Perth facing Geraldton and South West hosting Stirling.

It is a massive weekend of men's SBL basketball with three matches on Friday night, four on Saturday and then four more on Sunday to round out the WA Day round.

The round will also feature a rare men's double on Sunday at the WA Basketball Centre with the Hawks playing the Giants, and then the Redbacks playing the Buccaneers.

The Redbacks, Senators and Hawks have games on both Friday night and Sunday afternoon while the Lightning have a game on both Friday and Saturday night, and the Giants, Magic, Buccaneers and Wolves play on each of Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

The Eastern Suns, Flames, Cougars, Tigers, Eagles and Slammers are the only teams to have just the one game over the weekend.

The round begins on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks playing the Stirling Senators at Belmont Oasis with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns playing the Lakeside Lightning at Ray Owen Sports Centre and the Perry Lakes Hawks facing the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames at the WA Basketball Centre.

All three Friday night matches tip-off at 8.30pm.

The Redbacks and Senators' recent form has been heading in opposite directions, but that shouldn’t mean that any less of a strong contest will take place on Friday.

Perth has improved to a 9-6 record to sit in fourth position having won three of its last four games while Stirling has now lost four of five matches to have fallen to a 5-7 record to be in 10th position.

Last year's wooden spooners the Eastern Suns and the defending champion Lightning then clash in Kalamunda.

The Suns are again struggling in 2014 with just a 3-11 record and will again be without Luke Nevill against the Lightning due to his Boomers commitments.

Meanwhile Lakeside has only won two of its last four games but still is in a solid position overall this season with a 9-6 record in third spot. However, the Lightning have lost pace with the top-two teams Geraldton and Rockingham who have a six-point advantage heading into the Week 12 action.

The Hawks and Flames should be another tremendous contest on Friday.

Rockingham dropped from top spot thanks to losses last weekend to both East Perth and Cockburn but the Flames remain in second position with a 12-5 record.

However, Perry Lakes' best form this season has shown it can match it with the best teams and if the Hawks play well and manage to upset the Flames, it will keep them within touch of a top-eight spot. Currently Perry Lakes is in ninth spot with a 6-7 record.

Then on Saturday night, the Lakeside Lightning take on the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Lakeside Recreation Centre and also tipping off at 7.30pm is the clash between the Mandurah Magic and the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Then at 8pm also on Saturday night, the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars play the Joondalup Wolves at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Willetton Tigers take on the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Lightning back up their clash at Kalamunda against the second-bottom team on Friday by taking on the last-placed Giants on Saturday.

However, Goldfields has been starting to play some better basketball in recent times despite being on a seven-game losing slide and holding just a 2-12 record on the season overall.

The Magic and Buccaneers then do battle in Mandurah with both playing for the first time on the weekend.

Mandurah has lost three of its last four games, but remains in the top-eight in seventh position with a 7-6 record while Geraldton sits on top of the men's SBL standings with a 12-3 record having now won five straight matches.

The Cougars struck their best form of the season last weekend beating Lakeside and Rockingham, but Cockburn has left itself plenty of work to do to remain a chance of making the playoffs.

Despite last week's wins over the defending champions and the then ladder leaders, the Cougars remain in 11th position with a 6-9 record.

Meanwhile, the Wolves will unveil their new import Ephrem Davis and welcome back Trian Iliadis as they look to beat the Cougars and improve on an 8-6 record, and to break a two-game losing run.

The Tigers have struck some losing form of late despite a win over Kalamunda last weekend and now they come up against an Eagles line-up who will again be without Tom Jervis, but who has won five consecutive matches to now sit in eighth position with an 8-8 record.

Willetton, meanwhile, is battle to remain in any sort of touch with the top-eight currently sitting on a 5-8 record in 12th place.

The action then continues on Sunday with the Perry Lakes Hawks facing the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at the WA Basketball Centre at 12pm and then following that at 2.30pm will be the Perth Redbacks playing the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers at the WABC.

The Joondalup Wolves will also play the Mandurah Magic at Joondalup Basketball Stadium beginning at 2pm and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers face the Stirling Senators at Eaton Recreation Centre with tip-off at 6pm.

The Hawks back up their clash with Rockingham on Friday by hosting the Giants on Sunday in the first of the double-header at the WA Basketball Centre. While Perry Lakes will have Saturday to rest up, Goldfields will be taking on the defending champion Lakeside as they do so.

The Redbacks and Buccaneers then play out the second leg of the double-header and without doubt it looms as one of the games of the men's SBL season to date.

Perth will be coming into the weekend in fourth-place and plays Stirling on Friday before Sunday's clash with the league-leading Geraldton who will be in action on Saturday night as well up against the Magic in a tough encounter.

Speaking of the Magic, they then back up that clash with the Buccaneers by taking on the Wolves on Sunday in what should be another tremendous encounter.

The massive Sunday action then concludes at 6pm at Eaton with the Slammers hosting the Senators.

While Stirling will be coming off playing Perth on Friday night, South West will be making its only appearance of the weekend and doing so on the back of having won four of its last five matches to hold an 8-6 record.

WEEK 12 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Perth Redbacks v Stirling Senators, Belmont Oasis 8.30pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Lakeside Lightning, Ray Owen Sports Centre 8.30pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Orange Autos Rockingham Flames, WA Basketball Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Lakeside Recreation Centre 7.30pm
Mandurah Magic v Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers, Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 7.30pm
Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars v Joondalup Wolves, Wally Hagan Stadium 8pm
Willetton Tigers v Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles, Willetton Basketball Stadium 8pm

SUNDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, WA Basketball Centre 12pm
Joondalup Wolves v Mandurah Magic, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 2pm
Perth Redbacks v Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers, WA Basketball Centre 2.30pm
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Stirling Senators, Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix