In the State Basketball League over the weekend the Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers Mens team travelled to Geraldton to take on the unbeaten (4-0) Buccaneers. Coming off their first win on the season over the then unbeaten Eagles the previous week the Tigers spirits were up but the task ahead was ominous.

In the opening quarter the Tigers stuck with the Buccs to trail just 21-23, but it was on the back of the Buccs 9 turn-overs and the Tigers shot just 7 of 23 from the field. The second quarter didn't get much better for the Tigers as the Buccs eliminated their own turn-overs and took advantage of the Tigers low shooting percentage to etch out a 12 point (37-49) half time margin.

Both teams tightened up going into the second half and Tigers coach Simon Parker would have been anticipating that his long bench€™ would see his team run the journey better than the home town Buccs who relied heavily on their imports Luke Meyer and Michael Le Blanc.

However, the Tigers shooting percentage was a hurdle and problem that persisted and despite their ability to hold their opponents to the lowest score this season the too posted a below par score and the final result was a 84-95 loss.

The Buccs imports held strong playing the entire game without rest, Meyer posted 30 points and 9 rebound while le Blanc had 23 & 12.  For the Tigers, import Rob Epps finished with 23 & 15 and Clint 'The Rock' Reed was solid as always with 21 & 10.

The Tigers came away disappointed knowing that they had put in a sound defensive performance but could not post a winning score on the offensive end despite having 26 more shots (96 to 69) than the Buccs.

This weekend the Tigers Men return to their home court in Willetton and the Women come off a weekend bye to take on the Perth Redbacks who they played early in the season on their turf in Belmont.

In their early season meeting the Tigers Women score a comfortable 66-57 win over the Redbacks and since then both teams have been the form teams of the league. The Tigers are on a four game winning streak while the Redbacks have won four of their past five games – their only loss was by a single point to the league leading Rockingham Flames. This game will be a cracker for sure.

The Tigers Men will be looking for redemption against the Redbacks after their narrow 84-86 result early in the season. The Tigers Men have a win-loss ratio of 1-5 and need to get on a roll soon to bring them up from the bottom of the pack.

The Womens game tips off at 6pm and the Men at 8pm this Saturday night 11th April at the Willetton Basketball Stadium.