KEY POINTS:
If it was rugby, someone would have announced a review by now.
They'd probably have dragged in a softball coach and a lawyer or two and in six months' time nobody would be any the wiser.
But this ain't rugby, it's basketball. So there won't be a review
into why the Auckland Stars were kicked out of the NBL playoffs for not paying a $9000 fee and then reinstated after the merest threat of legal action. The reason the game brought itself into disrepute on the eve of its showpiece playoffs may never be known.
At present there are two versions of the truth. Basketball New Zealand's version is that the Stars failed to front up with a payment despite repeated deadline extensions, and finally a decision was regretfully taken to expel them. They only backed down 30 hours later to save the playoffs from being derailed by a Stars legal injunction.
The Stars maintain their expulsion breached the league's participation agreement.
The Stars also maintain they were singled out unfairly - other clubs also missed a regularly shifting deadline.
If the Stars think everyone is out to get them, they might just be right. One basketball official yesterday said privately the sentiment around the league was that the Aucklanders were "finally getting what they deserved".
Quite why such anti-Auckland feeling exists is hard to fathom. It can't be envy - they did, after all, finish the regular season in sixth. But this is a small competition, where the participants know each other intimately and rivalries run deep.
The Stars' claim of victimhood seems weak. That title goes to Taranaki, particularly players who cancelled holidays to make themselves available for last night's game.
No one looks too clever and both sides are dodging the blame. BBNZ chief executive Dale Stephens' must wonder what he's got himself into, having recently taken over the running of a sport that often appears more basket case than basketball. His desire to instil discipline into the league is understandable, but his decision to do it in such dramatic fashion just over 48 hours before a showpiece playoff game isn't.
As for the Stars, club insiders say more information will prove they were in the right all along. But the only question they really need to answer is: why didn't they pay the money on time?
