Hawks Lock In Robinson Replacement

The Illawarra Hawks have swooped on former New Zealand Breaker Peyton Siva to fill out their roster for the remainder of NBL23.

Siva will replace injured guard Justin Robinson on the Hawks’ roster after Robinson suffered a season ending knee injury in Illawarra’s second game of the season.

Siva, 31, averaged 11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game with the Breakers last season, and was most recently on the books of Greek Basket League and EuroLeague side Panathinaikos.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PEYTON SIVAAA ??<br><br>Hawks welcome import guard Peyton Siva for the remainder of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a><br><br>Read more <a href="https://t.co/JZROKRjZKa">https://t.co/JZROKRjZKa</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/ka1jsJL74a">pic.twitter.com/ka1jsJL74a</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1582544633019895808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He also boasts NBA experience having played for Detroit in the 2013-14 season.

“We identified Peyton as a player who can come in and impact the squad straight away,” Hawks GM of Basketball Mat Campbell said.

"His familiarity with the league and the style of play was attractive to us, and we look forward to him bringing his experience and leadership to the program."

"Our squad has been competitive in the early stages of the season. One could argue that better decision-making in key moments and another elite guard to get the ball in the right player's hands down the stretch could make our win-loss record look very different".

Siva’s addition to the side will help bolster a depleted guard rotation for the Hawks, which has seen development player Lachie Dent perform admirably under pressure after being thrust into a starting spot.

“"Lachie Dent has been a shining light for us in the early going and adding Peyton to the squad solidifies our backcourt rotation which we have asked a lot of in the last few weeks,” Campbell added.

"Peyton's a high-level competitor whose elite decision-making will open up opportunities for the rest of the squad, and we can't wait to have him in Hawks colours next week".

Siva will arrive in Wollongong mid-next week and could be available for the Hawks’ clash with Brisbane on Thursday, October 27.