Wildcats explore options as NBL crumbles

The Perth Wildcats plans to proceed with its application to play in a reformed national basketball league even though the withdrawal of the Melbourne Tigers and South Dragons has cast doubt on the competition's viability.

Shareholders in the Melbourne Tigers this morning decided not to play this season with chief executive Seamus McPeake saying the proposed reformed competition was not sustainable, Fox Sports reported.

The Tigers' move follows the Dragons' decision late last week to withdraw from this season.

Both Melbourne teams said they will rejoin the competition next year.

Governing body Basketball Australia (BA) will announce tomorrow whether the new league will go ahead for the 2009/10 season, which is due to start in October.

If the new competition should go ahead, there will be no teams present from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with Perth the only capital city to have a team in the reformed league.

Wildcats chief executive Nick Marvin has today been reported as saying that the club is exploring all options should BA decide not to proceed with the competition this season.

He said closing the club would be a last resort and one option was to participate in the Asian basketball league.

ABC radio reported Wildcats player Peter Crawford as saying that players may have to start looking for jobs.

The Wildcats announcement is below:

The Perth Wildcats are disappointed with the decision of the Melbourne Tigers and the South Dragons to withdraw from the proposed New NBL competition at this late stage. As a result of their decisions this now leaves the league with no clubs from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The Perth Wildcats are committed to playing basketball and will lodge an application to play in the reformed league.

It is our goal to not only field a successful team on court but to continue growing the sport at a grass roots level, as illustrated by the numerous school clinics that the players have conducted since the end of the season.

It is imperative that young basketballers continue to have faith in a system that one day can give them the opportunity to play in front of thousands of people.

It is the legacy of our owner Jack Bendat to ensure that basketball is not lost within the sport spectrum and that the Perth Wildcats players of today establish themselves as role models within the community and to continue to not only entertain by what we do on court but also to inspire individuals.

We will do our very best to keep all sponsors, corporates, members and supporters up to date. We appreciate the many phone calls of support thus far and hope to have good news in the near future.

The Perth Wildcats will continue the process of working with Basketball Australia and the other clubs for a successful outcome for everyone involved - the players, the coaches and most importantly, the thousands of Perth Wildcats supporters across Western Australia