The Australian National Basketball League has again been rocked with news that one of its clubs has grave financial woes: the Cairns Taipans have been placed in voluntary administration.
"The decision to hand the club over to administrators has come as a shock to the league as it
had received no previous indication from the Taipans that the club was experiencing extreme financial difficulties," said ANBL interim chief executive Scott Derwin yesterday.
"There was also no prior indication from the club that it intended to take this course of action when the recent issues surrounding the Sydney Spirit were being addressed, which is disappointing."
The news comes as a blow to the ANBL. Already, the Brisbane Bullets, Singapore Slingers and Sydney Kings have folded this year.
Last month the league was also forced to put together a rescue package to keep the Sydney Spirit in the competition after their owner threatened to shut the club down.
Derwin said he would meet the Taipans' administrator to try to keep the club competing in the 2008-09 season.
"I will be meeting with the administrator today to determine the extent of the club's financial situation and to explore all possible options for the Taipans to continue to play in the ANBL," Derwin said.
"However, it is the administrators which will ultimately decide the future of the club.
"We remain hopeful that a way can be found for the club to play out the rest of the season."
Derwin chose to remain positive despite the recent struggles with two of the league's clubs, saying the news only highlighted the need to restructure basketball in Australia.
"Basketball now has a unified national governing body to run the sport with a revised management structure focused on delivering strong commercial and community benefits for the sport," he said.
"The need for greater accountability and commercial viability will see the introduction of a more stringent criteria for the new ANBL, in terms of ownership guidelines and financial guarantees, when it is launched next season."
- AAP
