Rivals not the issue: Slammers

Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers’ import Senario Hillman has played down the importance of tomorrow night’s bout with arch rivals Mandurah as his side attempts to snap a five-game losing streak.

The fixture at the Eaton Recreation Centre is the first of two in round 13 for the Slammers, who will also play Stirling in Perth on Saturday night.

Hillman insisted the Slammers would treat the clash against the country cousins like any other game. When the two sides last met in round four, the South West side went down by 18 points after being held at arms length for much of the evening.

‘‘We have to stay focussed in every game, not just because it’s a big game for us against a rival,’’ Hillman said.

‘‘We have to stick to our game plan every game, just playing hard and together as a team.

‘‘It doesn’t matter if we’re playing a rival team or not.’’

Despite not tasting victory since they toppled Perry Lakes more than a month ago, the Slammers have shown signs of improvement.

At the weekend, they led championship contenders Perth at quarter time and were still in the contest at the long break, trialing 59-55, before falling away in the second half to go down by 30 points.

‘‘We played against a good team. We didn’t play well in the second half,’’ Hillman said.

‘‘In the first half we played real well as a team, but I felt like we lost focus.

‘‘That’s just something we have to work on to get better.’’

Stopping burly Mandurah forward Tom Remmerswaal looms as the key for the Slammers this weekend.

The lumbering star, who stands at 199cm tall, scored a season high 43 points in the only previous meeting between the clubs.

Meanwhile, the South West Slammers women’s side will be out to consolidate first place on the ladder this weekend when they take on Mandurah and Stirling.

Earlier this season the Slammers notched slender 75-69 over the Senators in round three and defeated and Mandurah 70-61 the following week.

Mandurah’s women’s side are last on the table with only one win to their name while Stirling are second last.