By Roy Ward
DANDENONG Rangers believe import forward Daequon Montreal will be fit to play in the South East Australian Basketball League east conference grand final in two weeks’ time.
Montreal injured his ankle at training last Tuesday and missed the Rangers’ 109-94 semi final win over Geelong at Dandenong Stadium on Saturday night.
Despite rumours Montreal would miss the rest of the season, Rangers coach Darren Perry said scans on Montreal’s ankle showed no major damage.
While he couldn’t guarantee Montreal would play, he said the big man should be fit to face either Geelong or Bendigo in the east conference grand final at Dandenong Stadium on either September 1 or 2.
‘‘Initially we thought it was more serious,’’ Perry said.
‘‘But by Friday we got some scans back and Daequon is a good chance to play, we will just have to wait and see but obviously as the weeks go by he is improving all the time and we plan to have him play.’’
The SEABL will confirm the date and time of the east conference grand final this weekend after the preliminary finals are completed.
Without Montreal, Perry put a smaller Rangers line-up on the court with Dwayne Campbell coming into the point guard position and Andrew Harms moving to the two spot.
The move paid dividends as Harms (24 points) and import forward Tony Lewis (21 points, 12 rebounds) led the Rangers to a 62-37 half time lead, a margin the Supercats could never reel-in despite making several three-pointers in the final term.
Perry said Harms had relished moving off the ball and into a more attacking role at the shooting guard position.
‘‘Harms came out aggressive,’’ he said.
‘‘He was disappointed in his form in the lead-up to the finals. He came into this game with a refreshed approach and it paid dividends.
‘‘He benefited from having another guard out there and letting him run the lanes and get into scoring positions.’’
With Bendigo and Geelong sporting very different line-ups, Perry said he was confident the Rangers could beat either side after they had played both teams in the past few weeks.
He also said the smaller Rangers line-up could well come into use again during the grand final depending on how the game was progressing.
‘‘The way the boys played, it’s good to know we have that line-up to go to if we need it,’’ he said.
