Posted on 27 May, 2017

LADY COBRAS vs BENDIGO – 12pm Tip-off  (WATCH LIVE)

The Lady Cobras pushed their win streak to five games on Friday night, defeating Sydney Uni on the road, 79-67 to move to 9-2 on the season. As has been the case for much of the season, the Lady Cobras were led by Angela Beadle (21.6ppg/8.2rpg), Maddie Garrick (17.8ppg/7.3rpg) and Chantella Perera (12.1ppg/3.1apg), with the trio lighting up the Sparks on Friday to the tune of 69 points combined.

Bendigo enters with an 8-3 record, good for second place in the South Conference. Their strong start to 2017 has been fuelled by the play of Chloe Bibby (19.5ppg/7.7rpg), Chante Black (17.0pg/8.6rpg), Ashley Ringer (12.2ppg/6.6rpg) and Charlie Smith (10.6ppg/6.2rpg), with the foursome shouldering the bulk of the scoring and rebounding load for the Lady Braves this season.

In what promises to be an exciting battle between two of the leagues hottest teams, Sunday’s matchup could come down to the battle of the imports, as Beadle and Black get set to square-off down low. If Beadle can come out on top and Garrick and Perera continue their scoring ways, the Lady Cobras have a chance to push their winning streak to six and remain atop the East Conference standings.

COBRA MEN vs BENDIGO – 2pm Tip-off  (WATCH LIVE)

The Cobra Men enter on a three game losing streak and 5-7 record overall, after falling short on the road to Mt Gambier on Friday night, 66-82. Kilsyth has been heavily undermanned during their past two games, and despite being without Chris Patton, Auryn Macmillan, Alex Vanrenen and Josh Kunen on Friday, they gave the Pioneers all they could handle before running out of gas late. Gabe Hadley (13.0ppg) and Jamie Ahale (12.0ppg) have helped fill the void offensively in the past two outings for Kilsyth, with their perimeter shooting set to compliment the impending returns of Macmillan, Patton and Kunen.

Bendigo enters with a 6-7 record, good for fourth place in the South Conference. Despite their lacklustre start to the season, the reigning champions possess some serious firepower on the offensive end, led by imports Dyami Starks (22.4ppg/5.4rpg/3.5apg) and Charles Aiken (17.9ppg/13.2rpg) and veteran point guard Adam Doyle (13.2ppg/5.0apg).

Aiken has been a beast down low for the Braves, leading the league total rebounds, blocks and double-doubles this season, while Starks has etched his name into league MVP consideration with his stellar offensive play, currently sitting sixth in the league in scoring and made three pointers and first in free throw percentage (97.1%).

The Cobras will hope to have Macmillan, Patton and Kunen available on Sunday, with the trio, along with Desmond Owili and Kieran Murphy, needing to come up big down low to slow down Aiken and co. If they can win the battle in the paint collectively, and the defence of Owen Odigie can contain Starks on the perimeter, the Cobras have a chance to get their season back on track with a win.