New Zealand and Perth are sweating on the health of key players in the wake of the Breakers' victory in the first match of the NBL grand final series.
The home side prevailed 104-98 on Thursday night without their NBL All-Star swingman Thomas Abercrombie, while Wildcats forward Matthew Knight picked up a thumb injury which forced him off court during overtime.
"We need to get some scans, but right now he can't buy a trick," Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge said of Knight.
"When he does something he does it pretty good."
The left ankle Abercrombie injured in the third semi-final in Auckland became a major talking point leading into the game and is likely to remain so as the Breakers try to get him fit for game two in Perth next Friday.
"Obviously eight days gives us a bit of hope," coach Andrej Lemanis said.
"It's shown improvement each day and if it shows that same sort of improvement then hopefully he'll be able to at least contribute something."
The first final added another chapter to a sometimes fractious rivalry and Beveridge promised even more passion as they try to prevent the Breakers securing the title in game two.
"I think that we'll be a lot more consistent with our effort levels and intensity levels (in Perth)," he said.
"If we don't we're going to lose the game."
Meanwhile, Basketball Australia (BA) announced late Friday that Larry Sengstock had resigned as chief executive officer of the organisation.
He took on the job in 2009 after NBL clubs and state and territory associations passed a unanimous vote for the unification of basketball at all levels under the governance of BA.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia, new-zealand First posted April 13, 2012 18:21:20
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