Round Fourteen Previews Game previews courtesy of Basketball Queensland
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CAIRNS MARLINS VS LOGAN THUNDER
The weekend kicks off with one of the matches of the round , between two teams vying to cement a top four finish and a home final . Cairns were able to get back on the winners list after a strong performance over Gladstone at home , defeating the Power by 22 points . Damon Heuir was able to return to some strong early season form , finishing with 22 points , whilst teammate Kuany Kuany recorded his second straight double-double with 18 and 12 . Logan continued on their winning ways defeating Ipswich convincingly by 17 . Mitch Young again dominated for the Thunder scoring 28 points on 75 % field goal shooting . Logan no doubt goes into this with much better form , although Cairns have only lost once at home all season ( in OT against Mackay ). Despite what the recent form says , we ’ ll stick with the Marlins at home .
IPSWICH FORCE VS GOLD COAST ROLLERS
The Force were able to break their ten-game losing streak with a dominant win over the last-placed Mountaineers . Kyle Harvey scored 26 points to lead the team in the 24-point thumping , whilst 5 other teammates managed to score in double figures . In their second game of the weekend the Force only managed a season low 82 points , going down to Logan by 17 . Kyle Harvey managed another 29 against the Thunder to finish off a great individual weekend . The Rollers went down at home to the Pirates in a close one . Despite the loss , the Rollers would be relatively happy with their performance considering South West ’ s dominance since the start of June . Gold Coast went into the last quarter with a 1-point advantage before going down by 8 . In a well-rounded team performance , the Rollers were let down by a disappointing 21 turnovers which had a big say in the end result . This is a danger game for the Force as they continue to get used to life without James Legan , although we believe they will have too much offensive firepower for the Rollers .
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS VS SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX
The Rockets have kept their season alive with a massive Round 13 win over the topplaced Brisbane Capitals . Rockhampton have now won four of their past five and have been undefeated at home since May . Rashad Hassan put up an impressive 27 and 15 against the Capitals to receive QBL Player of the Week honours , whilst Jack Lopez was able to knock down 7 threes from a staggering 21 attempts , to go along with 5 steals . Sunshine Coast went down in a nail biter against the Spartans , which involved blowing a 12-point lead going into the last . Their offence struggled down the stretch only managing 6 points in the last 5 minutes . Despite the disappointing result the Phoenix still managed three 20-point scorers : Hogan , Hill and Kenyon . Kenyon also managed 13 rebounds and 6 assists , although he would like to forget his 10
turnovers , the most of any player this QBL season . Sunshine Coast has now lost three straight and has only one victory on the road all season . The Rockets have too much on the line to lose this at home .
TOWNSVILLE HEAT VS LOGAN THUNDER
Townsville used a get out of jail card last Friday night against Gladstone , escaping with an 8-point win . Scores were tied with less than five minutes remaining before the Heat nailed 9 free-throws to secure the victory . Peter Crawford scored 23 for the home team , with Josh Wilcher putting up 21 of his own . Logan will be coming off a massive game against the Marlins on the Friday and one way or another this match will have huge Playoffs repercussions for the Thunder . If they manage to beat Cairns they will still be fighting for home court , but if they lose they will be fighting just for a Playoff spot . Despite what is on the line for the travelling Thunder , the Heat have proved to be almost unbeatable at home and we expect them to get the job done here .
MACKAY METEORS VS SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX
The top of the table clash saw Mackay being knocked off at home for the first time this season falling to their second straight loss . Despite still being the same offensive juggernaut we saw in the first two months of the QBL season , the Meteors have given up 99ppg on the defensive end in the month of July . There is no doubt that their offense is the best in the league , but if their de-
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