National Basketball League leader Perth had Wollongong breathing down its neck after the Hawks completed their third victory of a round which also saw defending champion Adelaide climb into the top six.

Second-placed Wollongong improved its overall record to 11 wins and four losses with an easy 117-91 home win over lowly Victoria at the Sandpit on Sunday.

The Hawks showed few signs of lethargy backing up less than 24 hours after its 92-87 away win over Sydney (9-4) which it bumped down to third spot.

Wollongong commenced its prosperous week with a 111-94 away win over Brisbane last Tuesday.

Perth (11-3) remain top and also extended its winning streak to three with a 106-91 victory over Melbourne, its seventh home triumph from as many matches.

Canberra (7-5) retained fourth spot despite a bye, but Adelaide (8-7) was the big mover, jumping two spots to fifth.

The 36ers notched their fifth straight victory and overturned a double digit deficit for the third straight game with a thrilling 107-106 home win over Melbourne (7-7) last Wednesday.

Melbourne and West Sydney (7-7) each dropped one spot to sixth and seventh respectively after losing both legs of their road trip.

The Pigs struck out in Queensland, losing 103-91 at Cairns (6-8) and 115-101 at Townsville (4-11).

Although dropping out of the top six, West Sydney was boosted by the news it had won the race to sign Boomers' guard John Rillie, who will return to the Razorbacks line up for Wednesday's crucial clash with Wollongong.

Improving Brisbane (4-12) recorded its fourth win in six starts under new coach Joey Wright with an 88-77 home win on Friday over Victoria (4-10), which today slumped to a fifth successive loss.

The Giants never tested the surging Hawks who were sparked by 20 points from Glen Saville and 19 from Matt Campbell.

Against Sydney, Wollongong almost squandered a double digit lead in the final quarter but held on to win with Saville scoring 18 and Melvin Thomas 17 with the later hitting some clutch free throws in the last minute.

Import Cortez Groves scored 30 in the win over Brisbane which played without ill import Kevin Freeman, who scored 20 in his return to action in the win over Victoria later in the week.

Pacesetter Perth was sparked by guard Ricky Grace and James Harvey who scored 26 and 20 respectively against Melbourne.

Tigers veteran Lanard Copeland scored 30 and also finished a loser against Adelaide despite 29 points in that game.

Guard Charles Thomas was Adelaide's hero against Melbourne, scoring 14 final quarter points including a match tying basket with four seconds left and the game winning free throw.

Townsville veteran Pat Reidy celebrated his 400th NBL game with 27 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against West Sydney.

The previous night, the Pigs were shot down by Darnell Mee, who scored 25 points and missed just two of 12 field goal attempts.

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