WARRNAMBOOL Seahawks power forward/centre Liam Killey is not going to let a lower leg injury stand in his way ahead of Saturday night’s Country Basketball League grand final.
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The 19-year-old stretched the membrane of the ligament between the tibia and fibula of his right leg just four minutes into the semi-final against Portland Coasters on Saturday night after landing on someone’s foot.
But the determined Killey pushed on through the pain to play a further 25-30 minutes of the nail-biter, and a visit to a physiotherapist on Monday night confirmed he would be right to go for the south west conference decider against Mount Gambier.
“It’s just stretched everything in between the bones, nothing too serious,” he said.
“I’m on crutches at the moment, but it’s just a precaution, and I’m seeing the physio every night this week.”
The Seahawks were buoyed by a strong start to grand final week, with players shooting well at training on Monday night.
Killey said after stumbling in the first week of finals in recent years, the Seahawks were determined to redeem themselves on Saturday night at Horsham.
“Every semi-final the last four years, we’ve been knocked out, so it’s good to get to this stage,” he said.
“We’ve got to be defensively sound this weekend – Mount Gambier are very slow offensively, they don’t shoot a lot of three-pointers.
“We’re expecting a slow, controlled game – both games we’ve played (against the Lakers) haven’t been run-and-gun, they’ve had to be very smart offensive and defensive games.”
Seahawks coach Matt Alexander said Killey has been “massive” for the team this CBL season, and was relieved the in-form teenager would be lining up this weekend.
“He’s quite tall and he’s been really working on his athleticism this off-season, and his vertical leap has improved,” Alexander said.
“If he’s not the best player in the league, he’s one of the best.”