THE Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles showed that their best was capable of beating anyone during the 2014 men's SBL season and despite finishing in seventh position, they are into the semi finals having beaten the No. 2 seeds and now can make the grand final with a win over the No. 3 seeds.

The Eagles might have finished the regular season with a 14-12 record and in seventh position in the standings, but with the knowledge that when at full strength and on song, they were capable of pushing any team come playoffs time.

East Perth took on the second-placed Orange Autos Rockingham Flames in the quarter finals and won Game 1 at home to open the series, before losing Game 2 at Rockingham but bouncing back to win Game 3 and book a semi final series with the Perth Redbacks.

The Redbacks finished the regular season in hot form winning six straight matches to finish in third position before then just needing two quarter final games to beat the Mandurah Magic.

Game 1 of the semi final series will take place this Saturday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with tip-off scheduled for 7.30pm.

East Perth was given a huge boost in the quarter finals with the return of dominant centre Tom Jervis coming off his NBL season that saw him win a championship with the Perth Wildcats and claim the league's Rookie of the Year award.

The Eagles' team also includes another former NBL championship winner Drew Williamson, development player Sunday Dech, Wildcats' squad member Mathiang Muo and the talented Kyle Armour so there is plenty there for coach Adam Forde to work with.

He is under no illusions, though, about how big of a challenge Lee Roberts, Stan Okoye, Joel Wagner, Jarrad Prior and the Redbacks present in the semi finals.

"The Perth series will be much of the same toughness and physicality we experienced against Rockingham," Forde said.

"They should be confident of their recent form as they have showed much improvement in the second half of the season; largely in part with the inclusion of the dominant Lee Roberts.

"And if anyone still listens to SBL Radio, I'm sure they are tipped as hot favourites and many would agree; so we’ll definitely have our work cut out for us."

As for the Eagles' quarter final win over the Flames, Forde couldn’t help but be impressed by his team's performance particularly to fight back and make a contest out of Game 2 even though it still went to a deciding Game 3.

"The Rockingham series was the toughest and most physically series I think we have ever been a part of," Forde said.

"In Game 2 the guys showed great courage to come back from 25 points down in the third, which I think played a big part in giving us the confidence to win it in Game 3."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene Elise Photography