NBL Thread

[Sharky Pete]

Blaze up in smoke as owners walk away
Daniel Meers | 07:18am July 18, 2012

BASKETBALL Australia's insistence on the Blaze providing a $1 million bank guarantee -- which at least some existing clubs will not provide -- is poised to sink the Gold Coast franchise.

Blaze owners were left stunned last night when Basketball Australia rejected their submission to remain in the 2012-13 competition because they had not provided a $1 million guarantee. The club's directors claimed they had reached an agreement with the sport's governing body to produce a figure far less than that.

The move ignited fierce debate in the basketball world over the contentious guarantee. It is widely known that several clubs traditionally do not provide evidence they can produce the whopping seven-figure sum required to be used if a club reaches hardship.

BA yesterday gave the club until July 31 to provide further information on three key points of their submission -- the Blaze claim they have already meet two of them.


In a statement, Basketball Australia said the Blaze must provide:

* Irrefutable evidence that the club is able to put in place the current NBL required bank guarantee of $1 million.

* Detailed confirmation of major funding sources, as well as evidence of the working capital requirements of $500,000.

* Absolute and unconditional assurance that the debt outstanding to BA will be paid no later than August 31.

Co-owner Owen Tomlinson last night declared the club met two of the three points and conceded he was confused about the stance of the bank guarantee.

He maintained the club was ready to "rock 'n' roll" for next season.

"I'm disappointed and confused," he said. "We meet two of the three requirements, which they have said we did not meet. We've got the $500,000 working capital and we have given them an assurance that we will pay the debt as well."

"We want to be in the competition this year. We believe we are ready to rock 'n' roll. I'm seeking further clarification about the guarantee."

Basketball Australia refused to comment on whether other clubs would default on the $1 million guarantee and BA acting chief executive Scott Derwin again refused to comment publicly other than in a written statement.

"This proposal is a good start, which BA supports in principle -- but the reality is it needs to be fleshed out further.

"Ultimately, BA has a responsibility to the league and the broader basketball community to insist the Blaze moves forward with a viable and sustainable business model."

It was a shattering blow to contracted players Adam Gibson, Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding, who remain in limbo.

BA has provided them with no assistance or communication during the tumultuous period.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2012/07/18/432391_gold-coast-blaze.html

 

[Sharky Pete]

Crocs pull out of the NBL

Published on April 7, 2013 by Nat Where You At

The Townsville Crocs future is in doubt after it was revealed that the team has relinquished it’s license.

According to the Townsville Bulletin, the Crocs have racked up over 2.5 million dollars debt over the past 6 seasons in the NBL and the shareholders have advised the team that they can not sustain another year of such losses.

What that means effectively is that unless a new entity wishes to take up the license in the very near future the Townsville Crocodiles will not be participating in the 2013/14 NBL competition after 20 years participating in that competition - Crocodiles chairman George Colbran

The Crocs membership & sponsorship have been on the decline for the past several years and there were rumours last season that the 2012-13 season would be the last season in the league unless crowds came back – they haven’t.

Whilst the Crocs can still play in the 2013-14 season and they have plans to move to a community model but Barrier Reef Basketball can no longer financially support the model and the club must now look elsewhere for support.

There is no official deadline for the Crocs just yet.

I would like to take this opportunity to record my deepest personal regret for this decision. It is not a decision the Board wanted to take, it is a decision we had to take in the best interests of our shareholders, many of whom have worked tirelessly and who have financially contributed to sustain the company and the team over the past six very difficult years. - George Colbran

http://andthefoul.net/archives/5857

 

[snowman]

meh, townsville and theirs fans are dereks anyway

 

[Mr Wright]

Crocs were my team after Brisbane bounced out. Dropping like flies.

lol@nbl anyway

where undrafted college rotation players go to be MVP of a league.

 

[djhabib]

so no team between sydney and cairns. thats pretty messed up.

 

[snowman]

townsville may have a saviour yet, plus the addition of 2 more teams, so we can see more rank average players like graeme dann get a run

 

[girds]

lmao watched dann play a few weeks back.. dear me lol i just cant believe heal giving him game time over some development players. Pretty embarrassing i dont think he has improved in the last 3 years

 

[snowman]

dann wont be a part of the kings next year.

i have heard they are about to make 2 signins. a returning young player, playing in europe.

and an import, a former league mvp, and a fantastic scorer.

 

[girds]

anatoly?

 

[snowman]

Ogilvy

 

[girds]

haha aj yeah he should be a nice pickup. Crooswhite to be released im guessing impressed with the big guy we got from blaze last season, starting to improve would be a good backup to aj

 

[snowman]

Crossy is staying as is Garlapp. AJ playing the 4 in Europe will probably do it here as well

 

[djhabib]

aj confirmed tonight. great signing.

 

[girds]

kevin lisch to join the kings?

 

[snowman]

Lisch is a huge chance. As is Gary Ervin.

 

[snowman]

cadee joins the kings on a 2 year deal... good signing for the start of a rebuild

 

[snowman]

angus brandt and josh duinker, 2 guys i played alot of basketball with and against, have joined the kings

brandt is a sensational signing, duinker, bit meh on that one

hopefully we get some waaaaay better imports

 

[Bundy Shark]

angus brandt and josh duinker, 2 guys i played alot of basketball with and against, have joined the kings

brandt is a sensational signing, duinker, bit meh on that one

hopefully we get some waaaaay better imports

Is there new coach any good?

 

[snowman]

Damien Cotter has been hanging around the scene for along time

he is one of the coaches in the successful womens senior program, and Dante Exum, has said in a few interviews that cotter is an NBA caliber coach

i was chatting with a few people last night, and they went cheap on the 2 bigs, so they can splash on the imports, where as the last 2 years, they had expensive bigs and crap imports

Angus is a ver solid 6'10 and very athletic, whilst josh duinker is mr fundamentals

 

[Bundy Shark]

Cool, thanks for the info, hopefully the Kings can play finals again.