The Wollongong Hawks will find out if last week’s pressure-relieving win over Townsville was just a flash in the pan when they square of with NBL titleholders Perth on Friday night.
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After 11 losses on the trot, Wollongong posted their second win of the season with the 90-76 defeat of the Crocodiles.
The mood was a little brighter on the training court this week, but the Hawks face a monumental challenge against the second-placed Wildcats (8-3).
Of the 50 games they have played against the Cats in Perth over a 32-year period, Wollongong have prevailed just six times.
Their last victory on the Cats’ home turf was way back on November 5, 2005.
Hawks forward Adam Ballinger was a member of that side. He rejoined the club in the off-season after stints with Adelaide and Melbourne and still looks forward to playing in Perth.
‘‘I’ve won quite a bit there throughout my career for some weird reason,’’ Ballinger said.
‘‘I’ve always loved playing there, especially at Challenge Stadium where the atmosphere was just amazing. That was probably my favourite place to play. Now that it’s a different arena it is much bigger and a different feel to the game.’’
Wollongong hope they got the monkey off their back with the win over the Crocs, though guard Rhys Martin returned to the club halfway through the losing streak and his own view of that theory.
‘‘I only had a chimp on my back, the other boys had a gorilla,’’ Martin said.
‘‘The record’s still not great and we’re sitting down at the bottom of the table, so that’s always going to be in the back of your mind, but the focus is not on extending the streak. We can just focus on the game.’’
Bettings markets have dropped the last-placed Hawks (2-11) to $151 to win the title.
Hawks guard Jahii Carson has been nursing a back injury all week but is expected to play.
