Basketball: No stopping this ironman

Vukona will play his 200th consecutive game in the Australian NBL against Melbourne today. Photo / Getty

When Mika Vukona goes down and stays down, it suggests something is seriously wrong. Which is why, late in the first half of a Boxing Day clash with the Sydney Kings, there were moments of concern for the Breakers' stricken leader.

The replays showed an opponent's elbow connecting with Vukona's eye. The court showed a good deal of claret had spilled from his head.

But, after the initial shock of the blow had subsided and the blood was wiped away in the changing rooms, what did the wound show?

"The pain was pretty hard when I was on the ground but, once they assessed how small a cut it was, I felt a little bit embarrassed how long I stayed down," Vukona said. "When you saw how minute a cut it was, there was nothing really stopping me from getting back out there."

The "easy decision" was made to head back to the battle and it's a decision that has been made, no matter the stresses and strains, before every one of the last 199 games.

Vukona will today play his 200th consecutive game in the Australian NBL, an ironman streak that will surprise few who have played with or against him. But when his wife Vanessa informed him of the upcoming milestone, it caught the man himself off-guard.

"It was a surprise, because I didn't know, but that was about it, really. A quick surprise and then, once again, it doesn't really mean much."

What it means, despite Vukona's disdain for personal accolades, is the 32-year-old has displayed a level of durability that belies what he puts his body through on the court - the elbows he cops while fighting for a rebound, the reckless way he throws himself on the floor to snatch a loose ball ... injuries should be a natural byproduct of such play.

But Vukona has remained ever-present in the Breakers' starting five, a fact he credits to recovery, doing the little things right and another vital factor.

"It's probably luck as well," he explained. "I'm pretty blessed that I haven't had too many bad injuries in that time. Knock on wood, it continues."

Vukona has, of course, received some misfortune during his streak, most notably during the Breakers' first championship season when the power forward suffered what looked like a significant knee injury in the semifinal series against Perth. The Kiwi club dropped the opening game after Vukona hobbled off but, facing a must-win rematch in Western Australia, he improbably returned to inspire his side to victory.

Competing with that kind of ailment or returning to the court after being stitched up are attributes on which Vukona prides himself. They were developed during the early years of his basketball education and he has kept them in his locker throughout his career.

"I'll probably get stick for saying it but growing up in Nenad Vucinic's basketball system down in Nelson, I think that really instilled a lot of that mental toughness.

"The pre-season training sessions there, they were killers."

The Breakers could hardly be more grateful for that wiring. It led to three championships and, after a poor previous campaign, has helped them return to the top of the table.

Maintaining their advantage will be the aim against Melbourne today, a game in which the Breakers will wear a specially-commissioned singlet honouring the players imperative to their past success.

Needless to say, when the club plan a similar tribute five, 10, 20 years from now, Vukona's name will be among the most prominent.