The Ballarat Miners face a do-or-die challenge this Saturday night when they travel to Kilsyth to play the Cobras in what could be a season-defining contest.
After a strong mid-season run which helped to establish the Miners as a genuine finals contender, the Ballarat outfit has dropped five its past six fixtures to fall out of the top four.
Sitting in sixth place on the South East Australian Basketball League east conference ladder with nine wins and 10 losses, the Miners will most likely have to win all of their remaining five matches if they are to make an impression on the finals.
Miners coach Eric Hayes described Saturday night’s clash as a must-win if his side is to sneak past Nunawading and Canberra for a finals berth.
“If we’re playing well a lot of teams will struggle against us,” Hayes said.
“Last week our offence was great but our defence was woeful, so first and foremost we’ve got to play good, solid defence this week.”
The Miners will be confident they can overcome at out of sorts Cobras side who have lost their past five fixtures and sit seventh on the south conference ladder.
Meanwhile, the Ballarat Rush will face one of the competition’s toughest assignments when they take to the court at the Kilsyth Sports Centre.
The Lady Cobras have dropped just two matches for the season and sit atop the south conference ladder.
The women from Ballarat remain in striking distance of a top two finish, however they will need to start getting over the line in tight encounters.
The Rush have fallen agonisingly short in their past two fixtures, going down by five points to Frankston before losing by four points to Brisbane on the road.
