Basketball: NBL boss buoyed by full fee payments

There will be no repeat of last year's NBL entrance fee debacle.

League chairman Sam Rossiter-Stead has confirmed that all nine NBL franchises have paid their entrance fee in full.

Having pushed hard to ensure there was no repeat of the embarrassing playoff banishment and subsequent reinstatement of the Auckland Stars over a missed payment, Rossiter-Stead and his new NBL board will view this year's prompt compliance as evidence their fledgling management of the league is on the right track.

The league will also shortly be boosted by a financial injection from the New Zealand Community Trust.

The Herald understands negotiations with the trust over a naming rights deal are close to completion.

"We are hoping to get some funding support soon and that will pay the majority of our administration costs," Rossiter-Stead said.

"Hopefully that will enable us to break even."

The league had made significant losses in recent years but Rossiter-Stead was hopeful this year it would end up in the black.

Despite the off-court upheavals of recent years the standard of play remained extremely high, he said.

As expected, defending champions Waikato and last year's beaten finalists Wellington have been the early pace-setters. The Pistons lead the ladder after making a 3-0 start. They are equal on points with Wellington (3-1) and surprise package Harbour Heat (3-1), who began their campaign with three straight road wins before posting their first loss in the capital last weekend.

The Pistons will be out to extend their unbeaten start when they take on Nelson (2-1) in Hamilton tonight. Tomorrow night's matches see Auckland Stars (1-2) travel to Napier to take on the Hawks (1-2) and Nelson travel to Taranaki to take on the only side in the competition yet to post a win. The Saints face newcomers Christchurch Cougars (1-1) in Porirua on Saturday, with the southerners then heading to Palmerston North to take on Manawatu in the second match of their double-header on Sunday.

Basketball New Zealand is hunting for a new chief executive following a change of roles for current boss Dale Stephens. After a brief and sometimes controversial tenure, Stephens is to take up an advisory role working on the hosting of the U19 world championships in July.

Stephens' exit mirrors that of his predecessor Bryn McGoldrick, who left after just 12 months for a role with the now defunct Christchurch Sirens.