The Ballarat Miners late push for NBL1 South finals begins against Nunawading

A match-up against Nunawading awaits the Miners on Saturday night, providing Ballarat with the chance to jump above Waverley and rejoin the top eight.

After snapping a four-game losing streak in round 13, Miners forward Preston Bungei said the side was ready and motivated to return to their early-season form.

"It is a really positive feeling around the team at the moment. We have been playing a lot better the last two weeks," Bungei said.

"The focus is just getting back to the way we were playing when we were in second place. Obviously it is going to be hard to get back to second but hopefully we can get ourselves into finals and give us a shot from there."

Sitting in 14^th, Nunawading heads into Saturday's clash on its own four-game losing streak but Bungei said his side cannot afford to underrate the Spectres.

"They are a young group of guys but they play hard. They are a team that you certainly do not want to underestimate, I think their record is not indicative of how good of a team they are," Bungei said.

"If you let them hang around they can definitely surprise you and upset you."

If the Miners truly have recaptured their fast-paced playstyle from earlier in the season then a finals appearance is definitely possible.

"I think we just have to play hard and play our style of basketball and as long as we stay solid and stick to what we do then we should be fine," Bungei said.

"A lot of the other teams that are above us are playing each other to end the season which works in our favour."

Two of those teams are Ringwood and Frankston, who go head-to-head at the weekend before the Hawks visit another side fighting for survival in Waverley.

It sets up an exciting finish to the season for the Miners, with Bungei noting that a winning streak to end the season would not only guarantee the Miners a place in finals but also reward them with a high-seed finish.

"It all starts with defense. A lot of guys on our side can guard multiple positions which blows up a lot of teams' offensive plans," Bungei said.

"I think we are at our best when we are getting stops and getting out in transition and converting it to easy points. As long as our defense is good then I think that is going to carry us."

Nunawading hosts the Miners at 7.30pm on Saturday at the Nunawading Basketball Centre.