THE Portland Coasters men’s side will travel to Bluewater Leisure Centre in Colac on Sunday, hoping to extend their unbeaten run in the Country Basketball League’s South West conference to four games.

Their opponents are the Colac Kookas, who have played two games to Portland’s three, and have not lost either.

They will be fierce competitors on their home deck, and Portland will be without Jackson Dunlop, who is a regular part of the starting five, and a key applier of pressure on the ball.

Pressure on the ball, too, has been identified as a key part of the game on Sunday by Coasters coach Rebel Noter.

It is one of Portland’s strengths, and other teams in the CBL never like intense pressure when they’re on the ball.

The lack of Dunlop, however, could be a blow, as he is one of the Coasters’ more experienced players, and a key part of their defensive setup.

His absence gives the likes of Sam Peters and Jack Walsh a chance to step into the starting line-up, and the two young players have impressed, consistently scoring into double figures from the bench.

A boost like this is massive for the side, and proved the difference last weekend when Portland took on Terang, who had a far weaker bench.

Nathan Hardingham and Toby Oakley will also have an impact, adding crucial height to the side, with Hardingham always a consistent performer and Oakley stepping up last weekend after a lukewarm first round.

“It’s always been defence for us,” Noter said.

“We can force turnovers, and apply pressure up the court.

“We can pressure them, and force them to take shots from poor spots.

“Our defending as a team is good, but one-on-one, it needs work.

“We need to be more disciplined, we give away cheap fouls which is letting our opponents off the hook a little bit.

“I’m looking forward to it.

“They’ve made some changes, it’ll be a good challenge.

“We go into every game thinking we can win, and we’ve shown we can play four quarters of basketball.

“It’s just about us getting consistently better.

“Jack Walsh and Sam Peters’ contributions have been really great.

“Having four or five people in double figures each week has been really good.”