THE Casey Cavaliers will have first spot in the standings on their mind when they take on the Melbourne Tigers in this weekend’s Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) action at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Friday night.

With just a few weeks remaining until finals, ladder position is everything to close out the home and away fixture, and the Cavaliers will be looking to make the most of theirs with a favourable matchup against Melbourne.

Since the competition reformatted and changed to the VC Championship division, the Cavaliers have been the strongest performing side and look well placed for a tilt at the championship given the momentum they currently hold. While on the other hand, the Tigers are fighting to keep their season alive as the race for the final couple of spots in the postseason begins to heat up ahead of the Round seven fixture.

Melbourne Tigers vs. Casey Cavaliers
Friday, August 5 @ 9:40pm
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre

The Tigers have been pretty solid since joining the VC Championship division a couple of months ago, and it has resulted in a nice record of four wins and two losses. However, they still find themselves chasing a spot in the finals given a fair few sides started the year in much better fashion, and that record carries over too. They face a tough task in taking down the form team of the competition in the Cavaliers, but their own track record has not been too shabby, highlighted by last week’s five-point win over Sandringham. Despite their opponents giving it their all in the final term, the Tigers proved too good and will be looking to conjure something similar tonight. Hayley Letts was a terrific leader on the offensive end in that win, producing a game-high 26 points and will be keen on repeating that effort against Casey.

As touched on above, the Cavaliers have been in some serious form in the VC Championship division, dropping just one game in the first six weeks. While they have not been one of the higher scoring sides in this hot streak, their ability to grind down the opposition on the defensiven end has proven to be a winning formula. A victory here (and a loss to Bulleen) would see Casey jump to the head of the table, and with three weeks remaining until finals kick off, it would be a massive achievement on the eve of the postseason. Dakota Crichton has been great for the Cavaliers in the second half of the year, averaging just over 16 points a game, and will likely see a lot of the ball tonight.