A stomach bug has struck three members of the New Zealand Breakers squad ahead of game two of the NBL finals series against Perth on Friday.
Already dealing with the absence of BJ Anthony for the series and an ankle injury which is keeping Thomas Abercrombie out of training, the bug forced Gary Wilkinson, Dillon Boucher and Dion Prewster out of training on Tuesday.
"As if there are not enough challenges in a week like this," coach Andrej Lemanis told media.
"Hopefully, it's just a 24-hour thing and they'll all be good to have a good session tomorrow because we need one."
Wilkinson, the starting centre, and Boucher, a defensive terrier who makes an impact from the bench, are key players the Breakers will not want to do without.
The Breakers beat the Wildcats 104-98 in overtime of a thrilling game one at Vector Arena in Auckland last Thursday and can secure the best-of-three series if they can win in Perth on Friday.
Should the Wildcats win, the title will be decided at Vector Arena next Tuesday.
Abercrombie did not play in the first finals match after injuring his ankle in the third semi-final against the Townsville Crocodiles but Lemanis says he is likely to play some part in Friday's match.
The Breakers are due to train again on Wednesday before flying to Perth on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Wildcats centre Luke Nevill and forward Matt Knight are expected to play on Friday despite setbacks.
A scan cleared Knight of major damage to his thumb, which he hurt last Thursday, while Nevill is expected to recover from an illness, the West Australian reported.
AAP
Tags: sport, basketball, perth-6000, wa, australia First posted April 17, 2012 14:25:51
No comments:
Post a Comment