Gabe Haskins is still a doubt for this weekend’s Cheshire Phoenix double header in the BBL Championship and BBL Trophy.
Tomorrow Matt Lloyd’s side head south to face London Lions in a critical head-to-head match-up.
The Lions are currently occupying the final play-off spot in the BBL Championship and with each team holding a victory at the opposition’s arena, this is the decider.
The winner will end Friday night in eighth place and with the definitive 2-1 series win over their rivals.
On Saturday Lloyd’s side will take on former BBL side and current National League outfit Worthing Thunder, a side featuring one of the BBL’s craziest dunkers of all time, Kadiri Richard, in the quarter finals of the BBL Trophy.
Earlier this season the Phoenix management committee’s Andrew Donaldson expressed his wish that the team reach the final of the Trophy if possible, but Lloyd is pacing himself and his team.
“They are both very important games if we want to hit our goals for the season so they will be taken one game at a time and we will look to perform our best in both games,” he said. “We want to get a win tomorrow night to get back into the play-off spots and then we can push for a semi final place in the trophy.
“Everyone seems to be highlighting Kadiri as the main threat for the Thunder. Yes the guy is talented and has played BBL before but I think there are other players in the Worthing side that will provide more of a shock, like Bud Johnston and Hank Rivers, two talented players that surround Kadiri and make them a hard unit to beat.”
The question mark over Haskins, however, is a real problem for Lloyd. His side injury in training last week ruled him out of both weekend games and the Phoenix missed the man Lloyd referred to as his ‘court general’.
With Alif Bland also struggling to shake off a knock picked up in the home defeat to Plymouth Raiders on Sunday, the double-header poses a challenge to the Phoenix.
“These guys are professional athletes and we have been lucky so far in the season that we haven’t had any Friday-Saturday games so far,” said Lloyd.
“Gabe is attending physio appointments and we are taking our time with his return as it was a bad muscle tear. We will take the advice of the physios and what Gabe wants to do closer to game time.”
One bonus for Lloyd was the way Stuart Thompson has settled in. The versatile 6ft 6ins player signed from Manchester Giants last week and played both games at the weekend, fitting in nicely with the team and offering valuable rest for key players.
“We are happy with Stuart,” said Lloyd. “Once he finds how everyone plays we will see his true talent.”
