THERE are 10 massive men's SBL matches across four days of the Anzac Round but for the Goldfields Giants and East Perth Eagles it's getting to the point where they can't afford to keep losing if they want to get back in the playoff hunt.

It might be only Week 7 of the 2015 season, but with the Eagles and Giants both on seven-game losing streaks they need to begin to get things back on track quickly to stay in the race for the top-eight.

And the two teams now face tough match ups on Saturday night with East Perth facing Stirling and Goldfields playing Geraldton before they then face off with one another on Sunday at Morley as part of the Anzac Round of SBL action.

There are 10 matches split over the four days on the Anzac Day long weekend starting with two on Friday night at 8.30pm with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Joondalup Basketball Stadium and the Bethanie Stirling Senators hosting the Lakeside Lightning at Warwick Leisure Centre.

There are then five matches on Anzac Day beginning at 4pm with the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames taking on the Mandurah Magic at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Then at 7.30pm on Anzac Day evening, the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers play the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Active West Stadium and the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles face the Bethanie Stirling Senators at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre at 8pm.

The final two matches on Saturday night tip-off at 8.30pm with the Perth Redbacks playing the Perry Lakes Hawks at Curtin Stadium and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns hosting the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

There are two matches to be played on Sunday with the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles battling the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre at 4pm, and then at 6pm the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers play the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The round concludes on Monday afternoon at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers hosting the Perth Redbacks with tip-off at 2pm.

The Wolves and Suns open the proceedings for the round on Friday night with Joondalup looking to get back to its winning ways after losing two of its last three matches while Kalamunda is searching for its second win of the season.

The Wolfpack opened the season winning their opening five matches before losing to the Buccaneers by 18 points, beatings the Redbacks by 14 and then losing to the Cougars by five last Saturday night.

The Eastern Suns won their second game of the season over the Giants but have since lost to the Wolves, Slammers, Buccaneers, Cougars and Flames to enter the clash with the Wolves on a 1-6 record.

The Senators and Lightning also meet on Friday night with the two teams currently jostling over eighth position in the standings.

Stirling currently sits in eighth spot with a 3-4 record having won its last two matches after a four-game losing streak while Lakeside has now improved to a 3-5 record following successive wins after losing the previous five matches.

The Flames and Magic then meet on Anzac Day afternoon in Rockingham in what shapes as a fascinating contest between two teams trying to consolidate their positions in the top eight.

Rockingham started its 2015 season so impressively winning its first four matches against the Eagles, Giants, Redbacks and Cougars but they have since lost to the Hawks, Buccaneers, Lightning and Slammers before bouncing back with an 18-point win over the Eastern Suns last Saturday night.

Mandurah, meanwhile, has now strung together three strong wins over Lakeside, East Perth and Cockburn to head into the clash with Rockingham from fifth position in the standings and with a 6-3 record.

Then on Anzac Day night, the on-fire Buccaneers host the winless Giants in what might shape as the great mismatch of the round on paper, but Goldfields will be desperate to put in a strong showing on the road against their regional rivals.

The Buccs lost their opening game of the season to the Slammers but have won their last eight heading into the clash with the Giants in ominous form and in the middle of a four-game stretch of home matches that they are looking to take full advantage of.

The Giants are yet to win in seven attempts this season but they did only lose to the Senators by four points last Saturday night and with the likes of Jacob Holmen, Jay Bowie and Mathiang Muo in their line-up, they certainly have the talent to give the Buccs a run for their money on Anzac Day.

The defending champion Eagles then host the Senators on Saturday night at Morley with Stirling coming off its clash with the Lightning from Friday evening.

East Perth might be the defending champions and despite the return of Tom Jervis last week, have only won one of eight matches this season and are currently on a seven-game losing streak heading into the clash with the Senators.

Also on Saturday night, the Redbacks host the Hawks in a battle featuring two teams looking to get on the winner's list and to put pressure on for a spot in the top eight.

The Redbacks only narrowly missed a place in the grand final last year but so far have won just three of eight matches to start 2015 despite imports Ray Tucker and Marshall Brown putting up some impressive numbers.

The Hawks are looking to return to post-season action in 2015 but have so far won just two of eight matches this season including losing their last three against the Senators, Lightning and Slammers.

The final match on Anzac Day pits the Suns up against the Tigers with Kalamunda coming off playing the Wolves in Joondalup on Friday night while Willetton is making its first appearance of the weekend.

The Tigers started their season with a big win over the Giants and then big loss to the Wolves, but then went on a four-game winning over the Eagles, Cougars, Lightning and East Perth again before losing to the Buccaneers by 24 points last Saturday night in Geraldton.

The Sunday men's SBL action begins with the defending champion Eagles hosting the Giants with both teams desperate to win.

East Perth enters the weekend on a seven-game losing streak before playing the Senators on Saturday night while Goldfields has lost its first seven matches before playing Geraldton on Saturday night as well.

Regardless of the results on Saturday night, either the Eagles or Giants will record a much-needed win on Sunday while the loser could find themselves anchored to the bottom of the table.

Also on Sunday evening, the Slammers host the Cougars with South West making its only appearance of the weekend as will Cockburn so both teams will be fully focused on this contest.

The Slammers enter the round on top of the men's SBL standings with a 9-1 record while the Cougars have also started the season impressively with a 5-4 record despite having many pundits writing off their chances coming into the new season.

The round contines on Sunday afternoon with the Tigers hosting the Redbacks with Willetton having played Kalamunda on Saturday night, and Perth coming off taking on Perry Lakes also on Saturday evening.

And finally on Sunday, the Tigers host the Redbacks with Willetton having already played Kalamunda on Saturday night and Perth having taken on Perry Lakes at home also on Saturday evening.

WEEK 7 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 8.30pm
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Lakeside Lightning, Warwick Leisure Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames v Mandurah Magic, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 4pm
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Perth Redbacks v Perry Lakes Hawks, Curtin Stadium 8.30pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Ray Owen Sports Centre 8.30pm

SUNDAY
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 4pm
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm

MONDAY
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Perth Redbacks, Willetton Basketball Stadium 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by HoopShots