THERE are some fascinating men's match ups in Week 8 SBL action including top four teams the Tigers and Slammers doing battle, as well as the Wolves facing the Magic and then a grand final rematch between the on-fire Buccaneers and struggling Eagles.

The league-leading South West Slammers take on the fourth-placed Willetton Tigers on Saturday night with the third-placed Joondalup City Wolves also facing the Mandurah Magic and then the Geraldton Buccaneers hosting the East Perth Eagles, and they are just three of the intriguing match ups over Friday and Saturday night.

There are three men's SBL matches on Friday night with each tipping off at 8.30pm with the Lakeside Lightning playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames taking on the Bethanie Stirling Senators at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Perry Lakes Hawks facing the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers at the WA Basketball Centre.

There are then five matches on Saturday night starting with the two regional fixtures at 7.30pm with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers playing the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles at Active West Stadium and the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants facing the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

Then at 8pm on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves face the Mandurah Magic at Joondalup Basketball Stadium and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers play the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

And finally at 8.30pm on Saturday night, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns face the Perth Redbacks at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Starting on Friday night, the Lightning host the Suns with the 3-6 Lakeside looking to keep in touch with the top eight while Kalamunda will be trying to end a seven-match losing streak after an encouraging start to the new season.

The Senators then take on the Flames in Rockingham also on Friday night with Jordan Wild making his return for Stirling to step in for captain Cody Ellis who is taking a break after a full on schedule in the NBL with the Sydney Kings and now in the SBL with the Senators.

It's big shoes to fill with Ellis having been in terrific form and nailing a stunning game-winner last week, but Wild is a proven SBL commodity and fresh off strong form in Germany he will help to ensure the Senators remain a competitive unit.

Stirling comes into the clash with Rockingham in sixth position in the standings with a 5-4 record while the Flames are now 5-5 in eighth. Rockingham started the season on fire winning its first four games but since then the Flames have lost five of the last six.

The Hawks then enter their clash at the WA Basketball Centre desperate for a much-needed victory against a Tigers team that is looming dangerously.

Perry Lakes has won just two of nine matches to start the season and needs to start stringing some wins together to avoid falling too far behind the top eight, but Willetton sits on a 7-2 record and is looming as genuine championship contenders so a big task awaits the Hawks.

The Buccaneers then host the Eagles in a grand final rematch on Saturday night, but it does loom as a great mismatch at this point in time.

Coming off losing last year's grand final, the Buccs have started the 2015 season in ominous fashion now having won their last nine matches since losing the first game of the season to the Slammers.

Meanwhile, the Eagles continue to struggle to get their best unit out on the court due to injury and unavailability, and now have also lost championship-winning coach Adam Forde who has decided to step away from his job in charge due to personal reasons.

That means that East Perth heads to Active West Stadium on Saturday with a big task ahead just to be competitive against a Geraldton team that is in some stunning form desperate to go one better than last year's losing grand final appearance.

The Giants also host the Cougars on Saturday night and Goldfields is fresh off winning its first game of the season on Sunday against the Eagles, and are looking to see if they can string two strong performances together.

With Jacob Holmen, Jay Bowie and Mathiang Muo, the Giants aren’t shy on talent but Cockburn has done well this season to overcome a changeover in coach and the loss of some key players to currently sit on a 5-5 record to remain in seventh position on the standings.

One of the games of the weekend then without question pits the third-placed Wolves up against the fifth-placed Magic at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

Joondalup might have lost two of its last four matches but still sits in third position with an impressive 7-2 record so far this season while Mandurah is now on a four-game winning streak to be 7-3 in fifth setting up a tantalising contest on Saturday night.

The night's other match up between two teams near the top of the standings takes place at Willetton Basketball Stadium when the Tigers host the Slammers.

Willetton enters the weekend with a 7-2 record in fourth position before playing Perry Lakes on Friday while South West sits atop the standings with a 10-1 record and not having lost a game on the road yet in 2015.

The final match of the weekend then sees the Eastern Suns back up their clash with the Lightning on Friday night to take on a Redbacks team possessing the hottest player in the SBL at present in the form of Ray Turner who is coming off a weekend where he had 45 points and 22 rebounds, and 58 points and 26 boards in his two matches.

However, the Redbacks do need a win and currently sit in ninth position with a 4-6 record.

WEEK 8 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Lakeside Recreation Centre 8.30pm
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, WA Basketball Centre 8.30pm

SATURDAY
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers v Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium 7.30pm
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Mandurah Magic, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 8pm
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Willetton Basketball Stadium 8pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perth Redbacks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 8.30pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography