KEY POINTS:
Veteran New Zealand basketball international, Phill Jones, has failed to get clearance to play in the National Basketball League this season.
Jones' Cantu club was eliminated from the Italian Lega A playoffs last week and he sought clearance from the NBL to be added to the Nelson Giants roster with less than the five required games remaining in the regular season.
Nelson have just three games left in a six-team scramble for semifinal spots.
The exemption would have needed 75 per cent approval from the 10 NBL franchises, but a poll of teams failed to raise the necessary support.
Jones has missed only one other season since debuting in 1993. He was also denied entry two years ago after returning late from Italy.
NBL commissioner Bryn McGoldrick indicated today the league would explore ways to loosen restrictions on top New Zealand players returning from overseas contracts.
"This rule is obviously there to stop franchises stacking their teams for the playoffs," he said.
"But it doesn't leave much scope for elite players such as Phill, who have been loyal supporters of the league, to come back and play for their teams."
- NZPA
