Further to this morning’s announcement the Basketball Australia had requested further information from the Gold Coast Blaze in their bid to return to the NBL, the sad news comes that the Blaze will not proceed with the process.
A media release, apparently from Blaze co-owner Owen Tomlinson, which appears on the Gold Coast Bball facebook page states:
It is with much regret that we announce that we have decided to withdraw our submission to Basketball Australia to be included in the 2012/13 NBL season.
We have been asked to provide further information and given an extension until 31 July 2012 to do so. We feel that we have already done enough to satisfy all requirements and the drawing out of this process has gone on long enough.
We are proud of the contribution we have made to basketball in South East Queensland over the past five seasons and we feel that the Blaze has contributed in a very meaningful way to the community.
The company administration period has been a terrible strain on our loyal coaches, players and staff and their families. They, along with our Pyromaniacs and Corporate Sponsors, have supported us throughout this difficult time and we deeply regret that we have had to make this decision.
We thank everyone for their unwavering support.
Owen Tomlinson
Director
Gold Coast Blaze
It goes without saying that this is terrible news for the Gold Coast community, the Blaze players and staff and their fans. In addition, this realisation will bring disappointment across the NBL, meaning that the 2012/13 season will go ahead with just eight teams.
