Bulleen vs Waverley
8:00pm Sat @ Templestowe Leisure Centre
This clash shapes up as the pick of the round for two main reasons. Firstly, if the ladder remained unchanged over the next few weeks then we will see this same clash in the semi-finals come August. And, secondly, given Waverley's resurgence in form over the last month, this contest could be a lot closer than many may think. Ivan Platenik enters the game having put together a massive month of basketball during June, Sedale Threatt will relish the opportunity to lock horns with Mike Rose, Chris Arkell is looking good after a long injury layoff, Brad Kelleher is in stellar form and Tom Boyle continues to sneak under the radar. For Bulleen, no doubt Adrien Sturt, Corey Standerfer and Rose will be front and centre, while there continues to be plenty of hype surrounding young Ben Simmons. Extremely hard to go past the home team here, but put this game down as a real test to see if Waverley is a legitimate contender this season?

Sherbrooke vs Corio Bay
8:00pm Sat @ Belgrave Heights Christian School
Corio Bay takeson one of the longest ventures in SCM this season, leaving the bay for the brisk mountain air up in the Dandenong Ranges. The travel won’t phase the finalsbound Stingrays, and nor should the Suns if we’re going to be completely honest. With Ringwood and Waverley both locked on the same number of wins and losses as the Stingrays, every game for the trio comes with a certain amount of importance and in no way, shape or form can any of the heavyweights let games slip to lowly opponents. Though the visitors will start raging favourites, the Suns come into this one with some confidence and will be looking to Josh Smith and the Moore boys to keep the energy levels up. Defensively, the Suns must find a way to slow down Eric Williams, Ma’Alo Hicks and Jason Reardon, plus they will also need to contend with Paul Hutchison who is coming off a rare double double after hauling down a heap of rebounds last week. The Suns will show some grit in this one, but whether they can extend it for four quarters is highly unlikely. Expect a Stingrays win.

Eltham vs Melbourne
8:00pm Sat @ Eltham High School
When these two teams clashed earlier in the season it was the Tigers prevailing, 9285. Since then, the Wildcats have won three games from eight outings, while the Tigers have managed just one victory over the same stretch. As for current form, the Tigers come in off a one point loss to Sherbrooke, while the Wildcats are up and about after destroying the Devils to the tune of 47pts last week. Given Melbourne’s push to rebuild with youth it looks a long shot that they will be able to stop the more mature bodies and minds of Scott Cuffe, David Buchberger and John Lister, but when you add the current form of James Malvaso to that trio, it’s easy to see why we are hot on a Wildcats victory here.

Hume City vs Ringwood
8:00pm Sat @ Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium
Let’s not beat around the bush -we all expect Ringwood to chalk up a tenth successive win in this clash against the Broncos, especially when you also take into account that the home team has lost four straight games. However, complacency is something that Ringwood can ill afford, particularly given they now find themselves in an intriguing battle with Corio Bay and Waverley for ladder positions two, three and four. To give some credit, the Broncos have been reasonably competitive recently, including a narrow six point loss to Corio Bay a fortnight ago. Last week was a tough assignment against Waverley, and this is as equally hard, but a fierce effort and a nothing to lose attitude could push the contest a little further than some may think. Jamal Brown will need to be on his game, while if some good numbers come from Elliot Carr and Alex Bogart-King then maybe we’ll see the Hawks looking for a few answers of their own.

Werribee vs Diamond Valley
3:00pm Sun @ Werribee Sports & Fitness Centre
This game looms as a very interesting clash between two teams that are seemingly trying to get themselves charged up for a positive month. After losing their last three games to Corio Bay, Waverley and Ringwood, unfortunately the Eagles look set to miss the August action, which will be a bitter pill to swallow for new coach Warren Estcourt. Likewise, the Devils have been out of sorts lately, dropping their last six games in a dramatic slide after a very promising first half of the season.In their earlier meeting this season the Eagles got home by 14pts and a similar margin is on the cards again with Matt Fennell certain to be the key playmaker for the visitors. Jordan Hughes and the Silver boys will be called upon to keep the Devils ticking over, but it’s unlikely the home team will be able to match all of DV’s scoring options, including centre Neil Haining who has been in good form of late. Expect the Eagles to taste a win.
Hume City vs Ringwood
6:00pm Sat @ Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium
And the decider arrives! Well, the decider for the home and away season and probably top spot, but you do get the feeling that even more games between this pair await us come August. Just two weeks back we saw a Broncos win over the Hawks and, while the Broncos then rested up in round 14, the Hawks bounced back with a nice win over Diamond Valley. And that brings us to this game, a third and final regular season clash between the competition’s heavyweights, both of which are in good touch and probably on an even keel with regards to title favouritism. When they last met Amber Hegge found her way into foul trouble and only played 15 minutes, a telling factor in the 9pt loss. Additionally, Jadee Rooney (14pts), Tara Blair (7pts) and Sarah Yousef (2pts) were all well held. If the Broncos can turn a similar defensive trick then look out Hawks. For the home team there is plenty to like about Yinka Olorunnife, Viv Saad and Tarryn McPherson. Oh, and by the way, have we mentioned Sharin Milner and Katrina Hibbert yet? Two quality teams, both with some genuine star players, and a good sprinkling of role players as well. It’s one win each and bragging rights (and home court advantage) is up for grabs. Good luck picking a winner!

McKinnon vs Diamond Valley
8:00pm Sat @ Bentleigh Secondary College
It’s not exactly an easy run home for the Eagles –losses over the last fortnight to Waverley and Ringwood, this tough game at McKinnon and then a clash against Hume City next week! The season hasn’t panned out as planned for DV, certainly with regards to finals, but there is more than enough good signs to suggest the rebuilding phase based around a string of youngsters has all the hallmarks of yielding success in future years. Katie O’Neill has been solid all season for DV and with a number of ready and able juniors on the rise, it won’t be long before we see the Eagles playing past July. As for the Cougars, this game should be another routine win. Julie Brookhouse and Alex Lough are in fine form and appear set for a huge finals campaign, Tess Feery could pour in some big numbers at any moment, and the return of Laura Thomas from a serious injury is an added bonus a month out from finals. Though second spot is still up for grabs, McKinnon is more likely to finish third, but either way they need to keep winning to maintain the pressure on those above, and also to avoid Waverley finishing over the top of them. Hard to see the Cougars dropping this one.

Waverley vs Bulleen
2:30pm Sun @ Waverley Basketball Centre
After a promising start to the season the Boomers have lost eight of their past nine games, hardly a record to write home about. Sure, they’re going through some rebuilding of their own, but the disappearance of that early season form remains somewhat of a mystery. Given current form, very few would tip against Waverley in this matchup. With Brigitte Ardossi firing on all cylinders, Claire Landby finding her shooting touch and the growing prowess of Mikaela Dombkins, the Falcons look poised to continue building confidence ahead of the finals. If Ardossi maintains her form during June, the likes of Ringwood, Hume City and McKinnon will be more than a tad nervous by the time August rolls around. Bulleen will need everything going right for a win here, and multiple double digit scorers would be a massive help, but at the same time Waverley would need everything going wrong for them not to win, and that’s highly unlikely.

Hawthornvs. Geelong
Sat 8pm@Boroondara Sports Complex
Hawthorn hosts the Supercats on Saturday evening with everyone wondering if this could turn into a preview of a first round cross conference elimination final! Reason being...if the ladders stay the way they are 2ndin the Watson Conference Hawthorn, would host 3rdin the Terrill Conference Geelong in an elimination final. With that in mind both teams will be conscious of two things. Firstly they still need to work as hard as possible heading into the last month to try and get the highest ladder position possible. Secondly, knowing they could meet in finals both teams will be determined to send the other a message...look out, we mean business! It should be an entertaining contest that the Magic will be favoured to win at home but we all know you can never count out the Supercats. If Kimble has a huge scoring game this one could easily go the way of the visitors.

Southern Pen vs. Craigieburn
Sat 7.30pm @Hillview Stadium
For the Sharks to have any hope of making the finals and finishing top 4 in the Watson Conference it is now at the stage with 6 games remaining on their fixture where they would have to pretty much win the remainder of their games and hope for teams above them to collapse. Although unlikely we have all seen it happen in sport before. For Southern Peninsula, this means their Saturday night game against Craigieburn is 100% a must win clash. Craigieburn didn't have a good one in their 27 point loss to the Supercats last week and with it all on the line for the Sharks, you would expect to see the home side get up comfortably.

Warrandyte vs. McKinnon
Sat 7.30pm@ Warrandyte Sports Complex
The last time these sides played it was McKinnon running out easy 20-point winners at Bentleigh. They meet again at Warrandyte on Saturday night in a game the Cougars will enter as warm favourites. Warrandyte has underperformed all season and are now out of finals contention. Despite that they still have some VERY good basketball players on their team and they can never be written off. The Cougars have dropped 3 of their past 4 games and are certainly in somewhat of a form slump at the wrong end of the season. Look for McKinnon to come out re-focussed and ready to go in this one, and for Timmons and the Kostur brothers to lead the Cougars to a hard fought victory.

Mildura vs. Warrnambool
Sat 8pm @ Mildura Basketball Stadium
After copping a bit of criticism for dropping games to teams they should beat, especially at home, Mildura answered the critics in the best possible way in Round 14 when they easily beat the Watson Conference leading Chelsea Gulls. The Heat, although a vastly different roster, are still the defending champions and anyone writing them out of the title race is crazy. Their opponents Warrnambool come into this game having enjoyed a rare win last weekend in taking out Sunbury. Look for the Seahawks to give it their all, but with Bell and Henry tearing it up week in week out it is really hard to see this one being anything other than an easy Mildura win.

Altona vs Whittlesea
Sat 8.30pm @ Altona Sports Centre
Whittlesea won the previous encounter between these sides by 18 points and will be hot favourites to again get the job done when the two teams meet on Saturday evening. Altona have a lot to play for losing their 4thspot to Melbourne Uni in Round 14, they need to now keep winning if they are to push back into a finals position. It’s hard to see that happening against a Whittlesea side that is riding high on an 8 game winning streak with a division best record of 16-2. Whittlesea is strong from top to bottom and defensively Altona won’t be able to stop the big guns of Petridis, Dirkxs and Diggs.

Melbourne Uni vs. Camberwell
Sat 8.30pm @ Melbourne Uni Sports Centre
The Black Angels are rolling at the moment having won their past 3 games and finally pushing up into the Terrill Conference top 4. That’s a position they won’t want to give up easily when they take on Camberwell this week. The Dragons are tough, and despite not being in finals contention have claimed some big scalps this season when teams have taken them lightly. IF and it’s a big if,the Black Angels can limit the influence of Chris Lynch, Melbourne Uni should be able to again dominate the boards and put thisdownas another W in the win column.

Blackburn vs. Latrobe City
Sun 2pm @ Fairhills High School
Blackburn enters this game on the back of a very solid win over McKinnon in Round 14. They have another chance to claim a big scalp this weekend when they host the Latrobe City Energy. The last time these sides met it was a thriller with the Energy getting up by 5 points, and Latrobe City will certainly be favourites again. One thing we have learned from Blackburn in 2013 is they are never easy to play against. You have to work extremely hard to come away with a win against the Vikings so if the Energy is not on their game they could potentially come out of this one with a costly loss. A loss they can’t afford as they look to push even further up the Watson Conference ladder.

Sunbury vs. Hawthorn
Sun 3pm @ Boardman Stadium
The Magic plays for the second time in Round 15 with a Sunday afternoon clash against the Jets out at Boardman stadium. Sunbury was undermanned in their loss to Warrnambool last weekend and will be hoping this is not the case when they take on a Magic side that is currently 2ndon the Watson Conference Ladder. Hawthorn’s depth is scary with any number of players able to step up each week and guide their team to a win. Whether it’s the guard raining 3’s or big man Daniel McLennan dominating inside the Magic are a quality team and will have too much firepower for Sunbury in this one.

Chelsea vs. Southern Pen
Sun 3pm @ Bonbeach
Rivals Chelsea and Southern Pen meet in the final game of Round 13 with the Gulls winning the last time these two sides met by 3 points in a thriller. If Southern Pen get a W in their game against Craigieburn the night before they will come into this game even more hungry to get a win and keep their play-off hopes alive. Despite sitting comfortably in the Watson Conference top 4 Chelsea won’t want to drop this one either as they know they need to keep on winning to ensure they finish on the top of the ladder and in theory have an easier first round finals opponent from the Terrill Conference. Expect a close one and if the Gulls are not at their best, Southern Peninsula certainly has the team to come away with an upset win.

Geelong vs. Warrandyte
Sun 2pm @ The Arena
We have been waiting for this matchup for a while now as the two form teams in the D1W competition meet this weekend when the Geelong Supercats host the visiting Warrandyte Venom. The two teams are both riding high on winning streaks, with the Supercats having won their past 7 and the Venom going one better having won their past 8. With Craigieburn missing players lately, there is little doubt the winner of this game will walk away current Championship favourites. Last time these sides met it was the Supercats getting up by 16 points, however this was when star import Sthefany Thomas was on the sidelines. Her influence in the game cannot be underestimated and if Geelong are to make it two wins from two against the Venom they will need to shut her down. Arguably game of the season and it really will come down to whichever side comes to play on the day. Too close to pick a winner.

Mildura vs Hawthorn
Sat 7pm@ Boroondara Sports Complex
These sides met a week earlier and in Hawthorn it was the Lady Heat coming away 5 point victors. Mildura have the slimmest of slim finals hopes and will need to win the remainder of their games and rely on others losing if they are to have any hope at all. With Crystal Whittington dominating in Round 13, and with the support of Brooke Rule and Vanessa Power who are both in great form this will end up a comfortable victory for the Heat.

Altona vs. Whittlesea
Sat 6.30pm @ Altona Sports Centre
Whittlesea are locked in a tooth and nail battle with Camberwell for the 4thplay-off spot and simply must beat Altona this weekend to ensure they stay in contention. The pressure has been mounting on the Pacers lately with many in the Big V community questioning why this team has not performed as well as earlier expectations. The last time these two sides met Whittlesea won 92-46 and the stage is set for them to prove the doubters wrong, make an example of Altona and lay claim to that all important finals berth. The challenge has been set for the Pacers so let’s see how they respond.

Craigieburn vs. Camberwell
Sat 8.15pm @ Craigieburn Leisure Centre
The Dragons are locked in a battle with Whittlesea for that 4thspot and have a tough game this weekend as they head out to Craigieburn for a clash with the Eagles. Camberwell must simply keep winning their games and hope that Whittlesea put a couple down and if things go there way will be looking to claim a finals berth that not many would have tipped for the start of the season. The last time these sides met it was Camberwell coming away with an upset 3 point victory. The Eagles have been missing star players of late including Tenille Cann, who had 27 when these sides met last and if Craigieburn don’t have their players back this could be just what Camberwell need to ensure they stay in finals contention.

Sunbury vs. Latrobe City
Sun 1pm @ Boardman Stadium
Megan Shanahan and Deb Ogston dominated the last time these sides met as the Jets came away with a big 16-point victory over what was an undermanned Latrobe City. One of the biggest issues with the Energy this year is we are never quite sure who is going to be playing on the day. When they are at full strength they have proved as good as anyone and despite the result last time would still likely start favourites as they head out to Sunbury. The Jets will be keen to pinch another win and this should be a closely contested match on Sunday afternoon.

Great game at Bulleen last night. Falcons got up over Bulleen
http://www.sportingpulse.com/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=388504997&c=1-913-0-251925-0&pool=-1

Yep heard from 2 different sources today that Epperson is gone! Makes sense but, the guy can't coach.

Who should be in line for the gig?

yes amazing finish to that SCW game. Falcons got up by 1 8secs to go, Bulleen responded with a great out of bounds play to steal the game. Bulleen played great team defence, Lauren Pearce fired 21 points, Emily Simmons great game added 14 and Funda N managed the tricks despite Dombkins' defence.

With their track record of screwing over coaches would anyone seriously touch the Hume job with a barge pole now?