19-05-2025
South West Slammers' men's side remain winless after losses to Rockingham Flames and Eastern Suns
South West Slammers' men's side remain winless in the 2025 NBL1 West season after another pair of losses — this time to Rockingham Flames and Eastern Suns — in their weekend double-header.
The Slammers were beaten 116-83 by the high-flying Flames at Eaton Recreation Centre on Friday night, before going down 106-81 to the Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday.
A weekend, which extended the Slammers' streak of losses to start the season to nine, leaves them four wins adrift of the eighth-placed Suns and further weakens their hopes of featuring in the play-offs for the first time since 2017.
Star Jamal Poplar continued a stand-out season despite the losses, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Flames and backing up with 26 points and 14 rebounds against the Suns.
But a tough start to life in Slammers colours for the side's other import Calvin Whipple continued — having played just under 19 minutes where he made two of his eight three-point attempts against the Flames, coach Jason Chalk opted to use the wing for only one five-minute run against the Suns.
The team's defensive issues were again prevalent across both contests, conceding another pair of triple-digit scores, meaning they have kept their opponents under 100 points in only two games this season.
The Slammers headed for the main break against the Flames behind by only four points but were blown away over the course of a 65-36 second half.
Rockingham grabbed 25 offensive rebounds as part of a dominant display on the glass which saw them win the rebound count 61-31, allowing them to continually give their offence second chances while denying their hosts the same luxury.
Former Slammer Travis Durnin was among their strongest performers in the win, scoring 21 points in less than 19 minutes on the court.
The Slammers were able to correct their rebounding issues in their second game of the weekend, grabbing seven more rebounds than the Suns.
But their hopes of grabbing a breakthrough victory were ultimately cruelled by some subpar offensive execution which saw them convert only 30 of their 76 field goal attempts.
