There’s not a sports team out there that doesn’t have to battle through injuries in the playoffs. The St. John’s Edge, however, are taking things to a new level.
The injury bug hasn’t merely bitten the Edge – it’s making a full course meal of the basketball team.
Olu Ashaolu, who together with resident star Glen Davis has been a force in the middle for St. John’s, may not play tonight in Game 4 of the National Basketball League of Canada’s Central Division final against the KW Titans.
Ashaolu suffered a thumb injury Sunday in Game 4 of the series in Kitchener, Ont., a 97-86 Titans win.
The victory knots the best-of-seven series 2-2. Kitchener won Game 3 103-96 after suffering back-to-back losses in St. John’s last week.
In addition to the question mark hanging over Ashaolu, Dez Lee will also be a game-time decision tonight and Satnam Singh, who has barely played in the playoffs, is said to be hobbled by a nagging injury.
Take those injuries into account, and Jarryn Skeete fouling out Sunday, the Edge finished the game with six players.
The Edge are already without guard Junior Cardougan and Shaquille Keith, who are done for the season with injuries.
And before Game 3 Friday night, the league announced the player exemption granted to the Edge has been rescinded, removing Kyle Johnson from the active playoff roster.
Johnson had been signed as the injury replacement designate for Keith.
The Edge argue the decision to allow the signing of Johnson, a two-time NBL Canada champion with the London Lightning, past the deadline and during the playoffs was due to the rash of injuries.
The team maintains that on April 17, prior to the start of the Edge-Titans second-round series, the league granted an emergency player exemption to the Edge based on the fact the team had multiple players with questionable playing status, leaving it at risk of having less than the required eight players to put a team on the court.
The request was supported and the emergency exemption was granted, the Edge maintain.
“During the past four weeks, the league has been monitoring the injury situation in St. John’s, routinely communicating with the Edge in regards to the potential exemption if required,” read a statement from the league.
Johnson remains with the Edge, who are said to be considering appealing the league’s decision.
