NO BEEF FOR WNBL STARS
TOWNSVILLE Fire captain Suzy Batkovic insists there’s no lingering animosity between her and Melbourne star Liz Cambage after their bruising battles in the WNBL grand final series.
The superstar bigs were the headline act as the Fire clinched the third title in four years with a 70- 57 victory in the game three decider at Townsville Stadium on Sunday night.
Cambage was almost suspended for the winner- takes- all clash after she was cited for striking Batkovic on the chest in game two — escaping with a fine after an early guilty plea.
It was just one of several incidents of heavy contact between the pair during the best- of- three series, but Batkovic insisted it was just part of playing finals basketball.
The Fire skipper will be team mates with Cambage at the Commonwealth Games in April and Batkovic said they had already buried the hatchet before game three.
“I ran into her ( on Saturday) at training and we had a chat. There’s no hard feelings,” Batkovic said.
“Obviously things happen in the heat of the moment and I moved on from it pretty quick.
“I was struggling a bit when it first happened, I couldn’t breathe, but things happen and I’m not one to hold onto it.”
Cambage drew the ire of the vocal Townsville crowd, who booed the centre at every chance, but Batkovic said she tried not to get caught up in the hype of their personal match- up.
“I’m sure she’d know how to get it out of her head and play her game. It wasn’t something that we were focusing on,” Batkovic said.
“I heard different things during the game and you just play. You get out and you do your thing and that’s it.
“I know there was a lot of media going around, but I kind of just didn’t buy into it as much.”