NBL1 - Red-hot men's teams set for showdown on Sunday when Braves host Chargers

TWO of the NBL1 men's hottest teams will face off in a blockbuster at Bendigo's Red Energy Arena on Sunday.

The Bendigo Braves will host the Hobart Chargers from 2pm in a keenly-anticipated clash of two of the men's title contenders.

For the second week in a row the Braves' men and women's teams will face a double-header, starting on Saturday night on the road against the Nunawading Spectres.

That will be followed on Sunday by the home games against the Chargers.

It's the men's clash between the Braves and Chargers that is the standout match-up over the weekend, with the two sides having won a combined 20 games in a row.

Hobart (14-3) is riding an 11-game winning streak, while the Braves (10-6) have strung together nine wins on the trot.

The Braves will again be without import Malcolm Bernard (hamstring) for this weekend's two matches, starting against Nunawading.

"Nunawading (6-10) is going to be a real challenge on Saturday night. They play well at home and have been very competitive against the top two teams (Hobart and Mount Gambier) the past two weeks," Braves mens coach Stephen Black said on Friday.

"So we'll have to play well to compete with them and then there's obviously a huge challenge on Sunday coming up against Hobart.

"From our perspective it has been really pleasing during our nine wins in a row that in five of the games we've been missing either Kuany (Kuany) or Malcom (Bernard), so to see the rest of the guys stepping up and impacting has been really positive."

Meanwhile, the Braves' women enter their weekend double-header against Nunawading and Hobart as the competition benchmark.

Led by coach Mark Alabakov, the women sit on top of the ladder with a 14-2 record and have won their past seven games, six of which have been by at least 19 points.

As per club policy, the Braves announced this week the women's head coaching position for season 2023 is open for applications.

The men's and women's coaching roles are alternately advertised every two years.

* Bendigo Braves games this weekend:

Saturday - vs Nunawading at Nunawading Basketball Centre:

Women - 5.30pm. Men - 7.30pm.

Sunday - vs Hobart at Red Energy Arena.

Women - noon. Men - 2pm.

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