Eagles Preview – Round 11

It is another double-header weekend for the East Perth Eagles in Round 11 of the NBL1 West season firstly at home to the Joondalup Wolves on Friday night and then a trip south to face the Mandurah Magic on Saturday.

The Eagles are fresh off hosting the Perth Redbacks last Friday night and then heading to Kalgoorlie to play the Goldfields Giants across the WA Day long weekend.

The doubles continue now in Round 11 firstly against the Wolfpack on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with the women's game starting at 6.30pm followed by the men's match up at 8.30pm.

That leads into a trip away to the Mandurah Magic on Saturday with the women's contest at 5pm followed by the men's at 7pm.

WOMEN

The East Perth Eagles have the chance to put themselves right back in the NBL1 West playoff hunt with the double this weekend against the sixth placed Joondalup Wolves and ninth ranked Mandurah Magic.

What is strengthening the hopes coming into the double-header for the Eagles is that their two wins so far this season have come against the two teams they are playing this weekend.

East Perth broke through for a first win of the season back on May 4 with the 82-67 win at home to the Magic before then putting together a stirring fightback to beat the Wolfpack in Joondalup 78-74 only two weeks ago.

So the Eagles know they are capable of beating the two teams they are facing this weekend and two wins will have them back knocking on the door of the top eight by the of the first 11 rounds of the 2024 season.

East Perth comes into the weekend with a 2-9 record on the season having lost those two games last weekend firstly at home to the Perth Redbacks on Friday night and then in Kalgoorlie on Sunday to the Goldfields Giants.

However, they are only three games behind the Willetton Tigers who are in eighth position and having played fewer games than the teams they are in that battle with over a position in the bottom section of the top eight.

First up is on Friday night at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena with East Perth playing host to a Joondalup team who has now lost four of its past five matches after starting the season winning five straight games.

Then next up for the Eagles will be playing a Magic team in Mandurah on Saturday who come into the round with a 5-8 record and also trying to break into the top eight.

Eagles captain and point guard Tessa Morrison knows the challenges that double-headers present and while acknowledging that both opponents are tough, sees no reason why East Perth shouldn’t be aiming for two wins inside 24 hours.

"I think they are both very winnable games for us, but they are far from easy wins," Morrison said.

"We know that we can be competitive within this league but we just have to play four quarters of basketball and focus on what we need to do to win.

"Doubles headers are tough with such short turn arounds but we are also very lucky to have a great recovery facility in StudioSeven. I am excited for this weekend!"

MEN

The East Perth Eagles have not lost consecutive games this season for two months and will be determined to bounce back from a loss in Kalgoorlie in what is shaping as a season-defining double-header weekend.

The Eagles had a strong win at home last Friday night to beat the Perth Redbacks by 12 points to make it five wins in the past six matches before a loss on the road to the Goldfields Giants on Sunday evening after a rough plane flight that morning to Kalgoorlie.

East Perth will now face another double-header this weekend starting at home to the Joondalup Wolves on Friday and then on the road to the Mandurah Magic on Saturday.

They are two fascinating match ups with the Wolves currently sitting on an 8-3 record in third place while the Magic are fourth at 9-5 and one of the hottest teams in the league with a five-game winning streak.

First up is hosting the Wolfpack at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre who the Eagles beat just two weeks ago in impressive fashion 95-86 at HBF Arena.

Then following that Friday night match up is a trip to Mandurah to play a Magic team that the East Perth also defeated 102-100 in quite the exciting match up at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena back on May 4.

That sets the stage for a big weekend ahead for the Eagles with import big man Lukas Milner on deck to make his first appearances of the season having arrived with his season in Slovakia recently finishing.

Milner made an instant impact in his appearances at the back end of the 2023 season and will be looking to do the same once he hits the court for the first time in 2024 with the Eagles even if he's going into the unknown a little.

"I never got to play them last year nor do I recognise any faces. I’m just excited to play again!," Milner said.

"I’m very happy to be back, I came back wanting to play basketball & what’s better than immediately having two games. It’s a lot better than last year when I flew in & played an hour after my flight landed."