Cheshire Jets: Keith Page making the most of his first shot at the BBL

Oct 13 2011 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

WHEN the Cheshire Jets were looking for a spark on Sunday against Mersey Tigers, it was to a young guard plucked from the English Basketball League that they turned.

Former Manchester Magic player Keith Page didn’t disappoint, nailing 11 second-quarter points to turn an even contest into a Jets lead.

Although they ended up losing the match, Stockport-born Page earned plenty of praise for his efforts.

He said: “That’s what I try and do, come in off the bench around the five-minute mark when guys are starting to get tired and wheezy and they need a little bit of energy. I have to provide that energy whatever way I can.

“Last weekend I hit a couple of shots, the weekend before that I was playing a hard defence against Reinking so whatever I can do to try and give the guys on the court a lift, I will.”

Page has a rich lineage in the sport – elder sibling Julie is the Great Britain women’s captain and has played professionally in Germany, Italy and France and she will likely lead out Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.

Big sis has already been offering him some tips having attended both BBL Trophy games at the Northgate Arena.

“She called me this week and said if I get any free time I should go over for a few pointers from the game,” said Page.

“She’s obviously a great player, she plays a different position from me but she’s been all over the world playing basketball so she’s clued in to what makes a good player at any position and she’ll make a good coach one day.”

Thanks to good advice and hard work in training, Page is making the transition from EBL to BBL well.

“It’s a lot more physical here than the EBL,” he said. “Centres have gone from around 6ft 5ins to 6ft 10ins, guards are much stronger as well and everyone knows the fundamentals a lot better, so the level of the game’s a lot higher.

“I’m not adapting my game, just adjusting, getting used to the higher tempo, the bigger guys. I’m always going to play the way I play.”

With the BBL Championship opener against Leicester Riders this Sunday, Page is focused.

“We’ve lost the three trophy games by narrow margins. We just have to build on that because the league is the biggest prize of all.”