Basketball: Vukona has his sights firmly on playoff push

Mika Vukona. Photo / Getty Images

Mika Vukona was the last man off the practice court on Thursday.

That may sound unsurprising given his typically diligent demeanour but, ahead of the Breakers' crucial trip to Sydney tonight, the nature of the extra work was more noteworthy.

Despite having yet to attempt a three-pointer this season, Vukona stayed late to drain three after three, long after his teammates had departed for a video session.

Coach Dean Vickerman had to ask the power forward whether that session could soon start but Vukona, having moved on to free throws, pledged to make 10 in a row before calling it a day.

He settled for five - about the only time this campaign he has settled for anything less than his best.

Vukona has been in the form of his life throughout the season. It's doubtful the Breakers would be in playoff contention without his contributions, and he's fully aware of the increased expectations every time he takes the court - hence the overtime.

"I'm one of the older guys now in the team - you've got to put your hand up," he said. "I'm not trying to go out of my comfort zone or what I'm capable of, but I know what I can do and I'm just trying to improve on that.

"They say early-30s to mid-30s is probably your peak, so I'm looking to peak in the next couple of years."

This year must resemble something near the 31-year-old's peak, a good thing for both club and country ahead of September's world cup. Vukona leads the Australian NBL in field goal percentage, with his 11.4 points a game coming at 58 per cent, while his 8.2 rebounds rank him second in that category.

While rebounds, especially on the defensive end, have always been a big part of his game, the shooting stats suggest the extra practice has been paying off. But Vukona attributes it equally to luck, a good thing for a Breakers side missing last season's leading scorer Cedric Jackson.

"I think it's just going in this year," he said. "I've tried to improve every year and the team's looking for me to score a bit more this season, so I've got to work on it a bit more."

The entire roster have been putting in the work this week, with the Breakers' playoff fate set to receive either a boost or a blow tonight. A win over the Kings (9-9) could see the Breakers (8-11) stealing into fourth spot as early as next weekend. A loss would potentially be terminal.

The team will take belief into the contest having handily beaten Sydney home and away this season, including last week's 18-point victory at Vector Arena, but Vukona said that small sample meant little.

" We don't want to get too cocky - we've only won two games. We're not even .500 on the season."

But there's one way to improve that winning percentage, an assignment Vukona and his teammates were preparing for across their remaining nine games.

"Win. We've got to win every game, man. You can't leave anything to chance because, as soon as you lose one game, it's out of your hands."