The Tigers Men were heading down a fruitless path early on this NBL1 South season, four consecutive losses at the start frustrated fans who are looking for the Tigers to make a finals appearance after a couple of fruitless seasons.

Six wins from eight games have squared the ledger at 6-6 as eight teams are in line for the eighth spot on the ladder and a chance of finals action, last weekend’s 84-78 win against the Spectres was revenge against the fellow ex-NBL team who had enjoyed an 89-74 win over the Tigers in the second game of the season.

A win against Keilor will make it 7-6 and cut into the two-game advantage that Keilor has for seventh position on the ladder, Nunawading beat Keilor 98-77 on May 19 which makes things interesting, after Keilor is Casey who are having a horrible season so far with a 2-10 record and while a win sounds almost a certainty, complacency has brought down many teams in the past so the Tigers better be at their best.

The Tigers Women swept the Spectres for the year as they had won 86-79 in the second game of the season and bagged a 94-87-win last weekend.

The women are ninth on the ladder with a 6-6 record and are fighting with Eltham for that eighth spot as Ringwood in seventh has a two-win lead on the former two sides, it won’t be easy for the women as Keilor has a 12-1 record for the year, Casey who will be up next is 17th with a 3-9 record.

The Tigers cannot afford to go 6-8 and they most certainly can end the weekend at 7-7 or 6-7, the latter will make finals a stronger but not a certain possibility especially with top teams like Mt Gambier and Waverley awaiting the Tigers Men late in the season while the Women play sides around the Tigers ladder position.