After dropping the opening two games in their best-of-five series against the Perth Wildcats, Illawarra will need to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in NBL history to snatch an elusive second championship.

It will require them to win twice on the road in Perth – a feat they’ve accomplished just once in the past decade.

The first of those wins must come this Sunday at Perth Arena.

The Wildcats can seal back-to-back titles in the game three encounter, but Hawks coach Rob Beveridge intends on throwing caution to the wind to keep Illawarra’s own title hopes alive.

"I am trying to get our guys to loosen the shackles for sure," he said of the game three showdown.

"We have to go back to who we are, our identity. 

"I think we get too caught up trying to over analyse and out strategise.

"The strategy we have in place, sometimes you just have to forget about that. And just come down the court and play loose and play the game of basketball. That's what I am trying to encourage. Obviously game three, we know it is going to be tough but we are going to have a crack at it for sure."

Illawarra’s last victory in Perth came earlier this season when they broke a run of 25 straight games in the West Australian capital with an 89-85 win.

Hawks import Rotnei Clarke feels there is no reason why they can’t repeat the feat.

“Going to Perth and winning there is tough but these guys are very capable of doing that,” he said.

“We have proved that this season.

“We are not going to give up. 

“These first two games you could say we have hurt yourselves a little bit by not matching them on the glass and making some mistakes that has led to easy baskets for them.

“You can’t let them get going like that.”

The Wildcats claimed game two 89-77 on Wednesday night which was coincidentally the same scoreline from their game one triumph in Perth. If Illawarra can win on the road, the series will return to Wollongong next Friday.