Eagles Preview – Round 6

The East Perth Eagles are back home on Saturday evening on May 4 for Star Wars night looking for a pair of wins against the Mandurah Magic at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena.

Round 6 of the NBL1 West season sees the Eagles at home on Saturday to the Magic with the women's game to begin at 5pm and the men's contest to follow at 7pm.

East Perth's women are still hunting a first win of the 2024 season with the men out to snap a two-game losing slide and get the third win of the campaign on the board.

WOMEN

The East Perth Eagles have been playing better basketball than a winless start to the season suggests and will be hoping that breakthrough win comes on Saturday at home to the Mandurah Magic.

East Perth comes into the women's contest having lost the first six games of the season, but the performances have been better than that suggests with plenty to be encouraged about.

The Eagles now play host to a Mandurah team who are always tough, always put themselves in the finals mix and championship hunt, and who are also looking to start building some momentum this season.

That sets the stage for a fascinating match up at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena with the 0-6 Eagles hosting the 2-5 Magic and both teams desperate for a win.

Going back to last season and East Perth has now lost its past 14 matches with the last win coming on May 26 of last year, but you do get the feeling that breakthrough isn’t far away.

Both Mary Baskerville and Laci Hawthorne as imports are settling in nicely in their first seasons at the Eagles. Last Saturday against Willetton, Baskerville had 16 points and six rebounds with Hawthorne contributing 15 points and 20 boards.

Mary Goulding is getting better every week on her inspirational return and last week she had another 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists with Tessa Morrison, Bri Bailey, Taylor Roberts and Sarah Allen among those making strong contributions.

All that should mean the Eagles have the pieces to be a more than competitive team and they just need that first breakthrough win, which they will be hoping comes this Saturday against the Magic.

It won't be easy, though, with Mandurah still anchored by experienced brigade Casey Mihovilovich, Rachel Halleen, Emma Klasztorny, Bree Mullenax, Rachel Pettit and Kelly Bailey with Tiana Wilson-Palmer emerging as a point guard having made the move from Rockingham.

When Nicole Fransson has been available she's been a key piece for the Magic too so all the signs point to quite the fascinating Saturday evening match up featuring two teams needing a win.

MEN

The East Perth Eagles men will be looking to shake off another frustrating loss last Saturday to get back on the winner's list this Saturday night at home to an impressive Mandurah Magic outfit.

The Eagles took on the on-fire Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium last Saturday and for all intents and purposes, should have won the game.

Despite Willetton being one of the hottest teams in the league including handing the Rockingham Flames a first loss of 2024, the Eagles did plenty right against them and put themselves in a winning position.

They even had a chance to send the game to overtime at the death had Sunday Dech's lob to David Okwera come off, but in the end East Perth came up two points short and now come into Saturday's home clash with the Magic needing a win to improve on the 2-4 record.

Mandurah will arrive at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on a 4-4 record but having played some brilliant basketball and potentially having one of the most impressive starting five groups in the league.

New import Joel Murray has been a revelation to put himself in the MVP discussion with 28.7 points, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds a game while import centre Michael Durr has been imposing with 19.5 points and 10.8 boards a game.

Add in Jarrod Molnar (20.5 points), Julian Pesava (18.5 points, 6.3 rebounds) and Lachlan Bertram (15.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and there's a lot to like about what coach Mark Utley is building in that Magic team.

It will be another significant test for East Perth but with Sunday Dech, Jerami Grace and Taylor Young in the back court, and David Okwera, Seb Reath and Sharif Watson up front, the wins shouldn’t be too far away.

Eagles guard Nick Filpo is coming off a season best 13 points, six rebounds and two assists against Willetton last week, and is looking forward to East Perth getting the win at home over Mandurah to start building some momentum for 2024.

He hopes to see some dressed up fans out in the stands on Star Wars night too.

"That's what we're looking forward to on Saturday is trying to get a good win at home, get the crowd behind us and no matter what, we'll always play hard to the end no matter who's in front of us. We definitely look forward to the challenge," Filpo said.

"I'm excited for Star Wars night too and I'm expecting some Chewbaccas and maybe some Luke Skywalkers out in the crowd, it will be good fun."