THE Mount Gambier Pioneers Basketball Club will hold emergency talks with the sport’s peak national body as its future continues to be a knife-edge.
This follows the club being left stranded out of a viable league following decisions made by Basketball Australia and its Victorian counterpart.
The iconic 30-year-old sporting association has been spectacularly blocked from playing in a new restructured elite Victorian league despite several Tasmanian-based teams invited to be part of the competition.
The club was also dealt another major blow earlier this week after not being considered for the Victorian “Big V” competition, which is a semi-professional league.
In fact, the Pioneers is the only former South East Australian Basketball League team – which wishes to play in the new league – that has been blacklisted from the new competition.
This is despite the Pioneers being one of the “powerhouse” clubs on and off the court.
Club chair Tom Kosch said the Pioneers administrators had been invited to attend a meeting with Basketball Australia officials on Monday in Melbourne.
He said this crucial meeting would also include representatives from Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia to provide a “positive pathway for the club”.
“We are now in late November and still have no clear picture of what the future looks like for the town’s basketball club,” Mr Kosch said.
“As a board and a club, we haven’t given up the fight and we remain hopeful of a solution that ensures the Pioneers are on court in 2019.
“We are hopeful a positive result will come from Monday’s meeting and that we can preserve the history of the Pioneers in a sustainable and suitable competition.”
The Pioneers board is expected to provide an update on its progress early next week.
