SUMMERSIDE — The Summerside Storm will swing back into action in the National Basketball League of Canada in a big way over the next few days.
The Storm, who last played a league game on Jan. 6, begin a stretch of three games over four days today in Saint John, N.B., against the Mill Rats in an important Atlantic Division matchup.
“We got some rest, we’re healthy and ready to go,” said Storm head coach Joe Salerno, who added the break allowed the Storm “to get caught up on a few things” and get lots of preparation in for this week.
“We gave the guys some rest, four or five days off, but they still had some individual workouts and a lot of strength conditioning to keep them in shape,” continued Salerno during an interview in his office at Credit Union Place earlier this week. “We are refocusing right now and what we know we have to do to make a playoff push.”
The Storm returns to Eastlink Arena to host the Montreal Jazz on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Oshawa Power on Sunday at 2 p.m.
“It’s a busy week, it’s an important week for us,” said Salerno. “If we can come out of it with two or three wins, it’s really going to help our cause in trying to lock up a playoff spot and winning our division.”
The Atlantic Division-leading Storm will take a four-game winning streak and 13-9 record to Saint John while the struggling Mill Rats are 11-13.
The Mill Rats, who won six straight games from Dec. 13 to 28, have suddenly cooled off.
The Mill Rats have lost six of their last seven games, including four straight.
This slide has prompted changes as the Mill Rats announced the acquisitions of six-foot-seven forward Kevin Francis, six-foot-four guard Farnold Degand and six-foot-six wing Taneiko Robinson on Tuesday.
Six-foot-six power forward Kenny Jones is expected to arrive next week.
