Star Lakeside duo tall task for Giants

Goldfields Giants import Jacob Holmen has labelled tonight's State Basketball League match against the Lakeside Lightning as a "must-win game".

The two sides make up part of a cluster of five teams that are all fighting for the final spot in the top eight.

Goldfields and Lakeside both have recorded five wins, along with the Stirling Senators and Perth Redbacks, while the Perry Lakes Hawks sit one game back on four wins.

The game is made more important by the fact finals positions are determined by the head-to-head of teams with identical records.

The Giants have already posted losses to Stirling, Perth and Perry Lakes and tonight's match could have a big bearing on the end of the season.

However, the locals are one of the form sides of the competition, posting the league's second-best record (five wins, one loss) over their past six games.

Lakeside sit in eighth spot because of a superior percentage, but have dropped their past three games.

Despite the slide, Lakeside will have to be treated with caution as their line-up boasts the SBL's second-leading scorer Jordan Swing (31.4ppg) and fourth-leading rebounder Jarrad Prue (17.3rpg).

Holmen said his side must shut down the Lightning's weapons.

"This is easily the biggest game of our season, Lakeside have a great player in Jordan Swing, he's basically the (former NBA MVP) Kevin Durant of our league," Holmen said.

"With these last couple of games, we got to beat those teams fighting for that eighth spot.

"Right now Lakeside have it, we want to get it so we got to win."

The Giants conclude their road trip tomorrow against the league-leading Joondalup Wolves, while Holmen will remain in Perth until Monday to play in the SBL all-star game.