A double-header in Australia's merino wool capital will test whether the Southern Huskies are bona-fide July material.
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The Huskies will meet third-placed Canterbury Rams in their next three matches, touring Hobart on Thursday and Launceston's Silverdome on Saturday before the pair play off in New Zealand on June 15.
Four consecutive wins have seen the Huskies jump to fourth spot eight games out from next month's finals series, but qualification is far from secured with half of those matches against top-four sides.
Assistant coach Brett Smith said the difficulty of his side's run home would be decided by its three fixtures against the Rams.
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"We're looking forward to it, it's a little bit like a best-of-three finals series really," Smith said.
"They're all very important games because this side is in third spot, they're a very good side and we're going to need to win at least two of those to make the four.
"We've got some very difficult games coming up."
Comfortable wins have been hard to come by for the Huskies in their maiden NZNBL season, with coach Anthony Stewart's six victories coming via margins of 1, 16, 2, 5, 24 and 4 points respectively.
Marcel Jones nearly single-handedly pulled the Huskies over the line in last round's win against Supercity Rangers, collecting 27 points and 17 rebounds in the 108-104 win.
The American 33-year-old averages a league-high 13.3 rebounds per game and 22.5 points - third in the league behind Supercity's Timothy Quarterman (28.5) and teammate Jalen Billups (24.2).
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"Three of the last four games we've come from behind with four minutes to go to win, so they've been very good wins," Smith said.
"Earlier in the year we were running out of legs, now we're finishing games strongly and we've reduced some of the minutes of our starters so they're fresher in the last quarter.
"Marcel was fantastic for us on the weekend - particularly his last quarter and a half on Sunday.
"He stepped up both ends of the court so he had a big double - he averaged 26 points and 16 rebounds for the weekend. He's a veteran of the league and a very professional player."
Canterbury is coached by Australian Boomers and Brisbane Bullets assistant coach Mick Downer, who began his Rams tenure by signing Bullets star Cam Gliddon.
Gliddon has hit 29-60 from the perimeter to average nearly 15 points a game, while Isaiah Wilkins is second in the league for blocks.
Tickets will be two-for-one at Thursday's Hobart match, while Saturday's fixture will offer free entry for a child accompanied by a paying adult.
RAM AT HOME
- Thursday: Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart, 7pm
- Saturday: Silverdome, Prospect, 7pm