Abercrombie confident of playing in game one - Stuff.co.nz

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Abercrombie confident of playing in game one - Stuff.co.nz Apr 10th 2012, 05:10 MARC HINTON The Ankle Gods continue to smile on the New Zealand Breakers with star swingman Thomas Abercrombie today declaring that he's planning on playing in Thursday's opening game of the Australian NBL grand finals. Abercrombie was in good heart as he spoke to a large media contingent at Breakers training today at their Atlas Place headquarters - a long way from the despondent figure left writhing on the floor of Vector Arena in agony on Saturday night, sure his finals series was over before it had begun. The Tall Blacks small forward stopped short of declaring himself a certainty to take his place in the line-up on Thursday night against the Perth Wildcats in what is shaping as a memorable grand final series. The ankle, which he sprained badly when taken out by the Townsville Crocs' Peter Crawford in a late "playoffs" foul that was dubious to say the least, remains a work in progress and Abercrombie is figuring it may not be until the hours before the game that he makes a final decision. But factoring in the occasion, the body language and movement of the young man today as he worked on a range of rehab exercises and the now legendary healing powers of Breakers physio Anousith Bouaaphone, the chances look a lot brighter than they did last Saturday night "There's still some discomfort," said Abercrombie who was able to put weight on the ankle and undergo some restricted movement. "It's only been a few days since I've done it, but there's been a lot of improvement and it continues to improve. I'm planning on playing at this stage so I've just got to stay focused on that. "I've just got to keep doing the right things off the court and hope for the best. There's still a bit of swelling and once that goes down we'll have a better idea how I'm able to go. But there's not a whole lot of pain there, so that's a good sign." Abercrombie conceded his mindset had come a long way from Saturday night when the initial pain was followed by a wave of anger as he lay there convinced his shot at back-to-back titles was over. Remember, this was the man judged MVP of last year's championship series. "When I was lying on the floor I was thinking my finals series was over, and that's why I was pretty angry. When I had the chance to sit down and look at it a bit more I realised it wasn't as bad as I thought. Now Thursday's just round the corner I'm just focused on getting better and staying hopeful." Abercrombie, who averaged a team-best 17 points through the 2-1 semi-final victory over the Crocs, said his rehab regime was pretty much "round the clock". He is mixing icing with an array of treatments from Bouaaphone to speed up the swelling process, but so far there haven't been any left-field methods contemplated. "Noos knows best and he's done some great work with the other guys when they've been injured. I trust what he says and everything we've done so far is working well," he said. Abercrombie's plan was to undertake some moderate movement and shooting on the ankle tomorrow that would give him the confidence to come in game day and contribute as best he can. He also said he would take a painkilling injection before the game if it was deemed necessary. "If I play I'm probably not going to be 100 percent, so it's about going out and contributing in any way I can. I might not be able to do some things I usually can but I'll be giving everything I can with what I've got." Two things are worth considering as the Breakers work through their second major injury setback of the playoffs. Point guard Cedric Jackson has also been dealing with his own ankle problems incurred in the lead-up to game two of the Crocs series, but looked to be moving a lot better at training today. There is eight days between the opener and game two in Perth on April 20, which will allow for some significant healing to take place for those in need of it. And, as in the case of Jackson, Abercrombie's designated backup has been showing some handy form. Both Abercrombie and coach Andrej Lemanis today declared their faith in Leon Henry stepping into an extended role for the finals opener.  "He played fantastic in that semi-final series," said Abercrombie. "It was great to see him come off the bench and really give us a spark. He brought a lot of energy with his rebounding and ability to hit that three and he's going to get a lot of opportunity now. It's great he's got that confidence now which is what he needs." Lemanis was encouraged by Abercrombie's progress through the first part of the week but said they wouldn't know for sure if he would be good to go until close to game time. But Henry's play in the Crocs series certainly eased the angst, the coach admitted. "Last week he had his best practice sessions all year and translated that into games two and three where he came out and really helped us. "But the load doesn't fall just on the one guy, it gets spread among all the guards pretty much, and Dillon [Boucher] has been able to swing into the three spot during the season. "You always want to go in with a full-strength squad but you play the cards you're dealt and go forward with that and find a way." The Breakers are hopeful they can go close to filling the 9190 seats they have available at Vector Arena. As at lunchtime today they had sold around 7500. - © Fairfax NZ News This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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