Ballarat Miners will go into the last phase of the NBL1 South men's season in complete control of their own play-offs prospects.
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The Hotondo Homes Miners have worked their way into eighth position with eight games to play.
While they still face a massive task to hold onto a spot in the top eight, if the Miners can keep adding to their four-game winning streak they will stay there.
The Miners' run home is full of major challenges, with five encounters against teams above it and a clash with arch-rival Bendigo, which sits in ninth with the same record as Ballarat.
And there will be no bigger assignment than the Miners' next fixture against fifth-placed Geelong Supercats, which is scheduled to be played at Geelong on Friday night - three days after Victoria's five-day COVID-10 lockdown.
Two losses in Geelong's past four outings have allowed Ballarat to close within one win in what is a tight top eight.
The Miners' run home: Geelong (a) 5th, Eltham (h) 16th, North West Tasmania (h) 1st, Geelong (h) 5th, Waverley (a) 6th, Bendigo (a) 9th, Sandringham (h) 18th, Dandenong (h) 15th.
LADDER
NW TASMANIA 11 wins 3 losses 111.50%
HOBART 11 4 109.30
FRANKSTON 10 4 116.10
MT GAMBIER 9 4 107.20
GEELONG 8 4 109.20
WAVERLEY 8 4 108.50
KILSYTH 8 4 100.40
BALLARAT 7 5 105
Bendigo 7 5 99
Nunawading 6 7 104.60
Diamond Valley 6 7 96.90
Ringwood 5 6 97.90
Knox 5 6 95.60
Albury-Wodonga 4 10 91.60
Dandenong 3 8 93.30
Eltham 2 10 90.90
Melbourne 2 11 84.20
Sandringham 1 11 82
ALL NEXT WEEKEND'S FIXTURES
FRIDAY: Geelong v Ballarat, Hobart v Ringwood
SATURDAY: Sandringham v Frankston, Nunawading v Geelong, Bendigo v Kilsyth, Diamond Valley v Mt Gambier, Albury-Wodonga v Knox, NW Tasmania v Ringwood, Ballarat v Eltham
SUNDAY: Dandenong v Sandringham, Waverley v Mt Gambier, Kilsyth v Eltham, Melbourne v Frankston
BALLARAT Selkirk Rush will be aiming to end a three-game losing run when it resumes from this week's COVID-19 lockdown.
With slow starts hindering Rush, Alicia Froling said it would important for the team to hit the court with aggression and getting everything right from the outset, including nuliifying the offensive strengths of rivals.
Rush has slipped to 15th with three wins in 12 games and well on contention for play-offs. Its next opponent Geelong is 10th - making it a winnable game.
