The National Basketball League will remain a nine-team competition for the 2012/13 season, Basketball Australia announced on Friday.
"We are taking a deliberate decision, in line with our plans for sustainable and strategic growth, to not proceed with two bids for licensed teams," NBL Commission chair Justin Milne said.
The NBL Commission has received licence bids from a Brisbane-based group as well as a second Melbourne team and, for the past few months, has undergone an exhaustive due diligence process to determine their viability.
Unfortunately, neither bid was able to satisfy fully the entry criteria to be granted a licence for the 2012/13 season.
"We have made no secret of our plan to establish a team back into the Brisbane marketplace and add a second Melbourne team," BA chairman Kristina Keneally said.
"I realise this may be a controversial decision, but we are not going to expand the NBL for expansion's sake. We must insist any new team is financially sustainable. We make no apologies for that.
"Both bids had merit and were therefore seriously considered by the NBL Commission for the 2012/13 season. Our final determination is that neither team is ready for a licence at this time."
Milne said the NBL would work with both groups with the aim of including them for the 2013/14 season.
He said the decision might surprise some, but was in the best interest of basketball to grow the NBL with clubs that could demonstrate long-term staying power.
"Since the governance reform of late 2009, the league has already recorded tremendous growth in all key performance areas, successfully building a platform for sustainability and reclaiming the trust and respect of our stakeholders and fans," Milne said.
"All that good work would be undone if we were to grant a licence to a group that simply wasn't ready to enter the competition."
The nine teams for the 2012/13 NBL season are the Adelaide 36ers, Cairns Taipans, Gold Coast Blaze, Melbourne Tigers, New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, Sydney Kings, Townsville Crocodiles and Wollongong Hawks.
The finals system with its top-four format will be retained, with the draw to stay at 28 games for each team.
The 2012/13 season is expected to tip-off in early October.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, australia First posted April 20, 2012 21:07:10
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