Basketball: Chairman in for the long haul

Hawks chairman Keith Price is confident the team will be back in the NBL again next year.

Keith Price is a battler and has been for some time.

His five Maddison Trophy premier club rugby titles as a coach back that statement up.

So does the one loss during his four years as coach of the Hawke's Bay "B" rugby team.

It was no different during his days as a Hawke's Bay detective.

His never-say-die approach and attention to detail played a part in the arrest and 2002 sentencing of Jules Mikus for the 1987 murder of 6-year-old Napier schoolgirl Teresa Cormack.

So don't expect the third-term Napier City councillor to walk away from the winless Indigo Hawks National Basketball League team after one season at the helm as chairman of the franchise.

The Hawks recorded their 16th consecutive loss this season when beaten 90-77 by the Nelson Giants in Nelson on Saturday night and they end their season with an away doubleheader this weekend, Taranaki in New Plymouth on Saturday night and the Wellington Saints in the capital on Sunday.

"It was never going to be a one-season fix," Price said.

He took on the role less than four months before the season began in March.

"When we inherited the team it was financially in a bad state. We've rectified that, got the books in order and this season's campaign has been sustainable which is a positive," Price said.

Price and his board will have a brain-storming session next week when planning, including timeframes and direction, will begin for next season.

He hasn't heard any talk from NBL officials suggesting the Hawks won't be in the league next season because of their dismal record and is confident they will be back.

"We're in a similar position to what Taranaki were last year," he said.

"While they haven't made the playoffs this season they've had a few wins."

"We played a team with a lot of goodwill. They've had a lot of losses but the spirit is still pretty good ... they still believe they've got one win in them and this weekend they can prove it," Price said.

He has heard talk suggesting the franchise didn't have enough money to buy quality players and accepted this was fair criticism.

"We do need a bigger budget for next year," said Price.

"Some of the clubs spent what we did on our entire team on one player.

"However, our plan was always to get the books in order this season so we could move on."

Price pointed out a couple of players, Matt Te Huna and Arthur Trousdell, were unable to attend all team trainings because they commuted from Manawatu and Wellington, respectively.

Budget constraints prevented the team from replacing United States import Chris Porter after he was released because of an injury collected with seven games remaining.

"In hindsight that was the right decision," Price said.

"Hawke's Bay produced a lot of young guards. We would really like a 2.04m forward or centre to come through our age group system."

A business partner with one of the team's sponsors, Wisey's Pies and Bakehouse, which will return again next season, Price, admitted there was some work to be done to get some of the sponsors on board again "but the majority were pretty loyal".

"The Taylors Apples' deal which allowed fans to come to games with a gold coin entry will continue. There is still plenty of room if people want to come on board as sponsors," Price added.