Star Illawarra Hawks guard Kevin Lisch will attempt to play through the pain barrier in Friday night's semi-final decider against the Wildcats at Perth Arena.
Lisch was initially ruled out for the remainder of the series after badly rolling his ankle in game one.
But the two-time MVP winner has flown to Perth in his bid to play a key role in game three.
His presence is a huge boost to the Hawks, who have lost their past 23 matches in Perth.
The Wildcats are still licking their wounds following their 104-87 loss to the Hawks in Wollongong last Sunday, which tied the series at 1-1.
Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson was filthy with his team's performance, and he said the players now had a chip on their shoulder.
'We were dirty on ourselves for that game," Gleeson said.
"We didn't play Wildcats basketball and it showed.
"We got beaten by a team playing harder than us, and that should never happen.
"The guys are dirty on it, they're still restless about it, and we're ready to go on Friday night."
The Wildcats are the best defensive team in the league, and Gleeson is urging them to rediscover their hard edge on Friday night.
Centre Nate Jawai has also vowed to play tough after losing his battle against Hawks centre AJ Ogilvy in game two.
The winner of Friday's match will take on New Zealand in the best-of-three grand final series.
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