Basketball On The Internet.

THE Hawks ended the winning run at six for the Sixers last night in Wollongong and sent a message they will be doing the pushing around from now on, thank you very much.

Brushed aside by the Wildcats in Perth, Illawarra was at its most physical against Adelaide, also shelving (maybe only temporarily) the belief it cannot function without Kirk Penney dressed to play.

Kevin Lisch, AJ Ogilvy and Rhys Martin were magnificent for the home side, the Hawks bursting from the blocks to lead by 14 before Ebi Ere got the 36ers' offence moving.

Then it was Nathan Sobey's turn to get them going, Jerome Randle (below) seizing the initiative in the second period as Adelaide took the lead.

By halftime and aided by Cody Ellis' 3-pointer - their only one for the half in 17 attempts - the Hawks pulled clear again and it was a terrific thrid v fourth matchup from there, as expected.

Last tied at 84-84 in the final quarter after a 3-point barrage from both outfits, Illawarra made the plays down the stretch to take the season-series to 1-1, Adelaide still with a +5 points advantage.

Waiting for tomorrow night's rematch is going to be challenging cause it's going to be a beaut.

DON'T you love it that NBL basketball has been on TV every day this week, on Nine last Sunday, then on FoxSports Monday with Perth-Cairns?

Tuesday it was the unimaginatively named "Blitz" highlights package, then back to Townsville-Sydney on Wednesday and the Hawks-36ers last night.

Tonight? Wow! Three games in succession should satisfy even the most ardent NBL junkie. First it's Townsville in New Zealand, then Sydney hits Cairns and finally, to top it all off, it's first versus second in Perth where the Wildcats host Melbourne.

That's a night's entertainment for sure. And before I left for work today, I caught a fabulous NBL ad on Channel 9 promoting the coverage on Fox and Gem.

Hats off to Larry Kestelman and his team at the NBL. What has been achieved this season is mind-boggling.

Tonight: THE season is on the line for New Zealand, now two games behind Adelaide in fourth and on a six-game losing skid. Severe whiplash from an incident in the win over Sydney takes Mitch Young out of the Crocs' lineup, further helping the Breakers. I'm tipping them based on the fact they are defending champs and therefore possess champion qualities. But confident? Not at all.

CAIRNS realistically cannot make the top four but it can finish with a flurry and satisfy its home fans. Sydney has beaten the Taipans twice this season and been a true thorn in their postseason aspirations. Payback is a bitch and it's time for the Orange to squeeze the Kings.

IF Melbourne is to have a genuine shot at the championship, it simply must put in a better road performance against the Wildcats in Perth than its previous debacle which saw Jermaine Beal bagging 40 points. This is the definitive battle for first place, a United win giving it the split 3-1 so it must leave everything on The Jungle floor. With Casey Prather back, Perth has the edge.

Last night: ILLAWARRA HAWKS 104 (Lisch 27, Ogilvy 21, Martin 17, White 10; Ogilvy 9 rebs; Martin, Ogilvy 5 assts) d ADELAIDE 36ERS 97 (Randle 28, Ere 23, Johnson 12, Sobey, Gibson 10; Johnson 7 rebs; Randle 6 assts) at The Sandpit, WIN Entertainment Centre.