THE tenacious Cairns Taipans have won a stay of execution and seem certain to be named in the new National Basketball League line-up today. 

Cairns’ chances of winning re-entry to the competition were firming last night, hours from the official announcement of the competition’s make-up, with the NBL commission seeming to have accepted the club’s argument it could meet stringent financial criteria if given more time.

Pictures: Cairns Taipans 2009-10

Basketball Australia chief executive Larry Sengstock will name the licensed members of the 2010-11 NBL season in Sydney this morning, with indications coming from a marathon board meeting late last night that it would be a major upset if Cairns was not included.

It is understood commission member Bruce Spangler was to report to the meeting after visiting Cairns and the Gold Coast earlier this week to go through financial details with the clubs.

The Taipans have the required $1 million bank guarantee and a surplus budget thanks to a successful season ticket drive but are still about $300,000 short of the working capital level deemed necessary.

While their bid does not entirely meet BA’s criteria for readmission to the league, Cairns ticks all the other boxes for re-entry and BA is known to be particularly pleased with its community engagement.

The Taipans believe with the time available in the off-season and a recovering Cairns economy, they will be able to meet the financial criteria.

And it is likely to be the key to their survival, with the commission set to give the Cairns bid a green light if it received a favourable report from Mr Spangler last night.

Taipans president Denis Donaghy admitted the Taipans had struggled to meet all the league’s licence requirements.

"But given the turnaround in the economy and the work the guys did last year, we’ve got reason to believe we can turn the financials around, we just need a bit more time," he said.

"Whilst they’re concerned about the financial side of our expression of interest, they appreciate the fact we’re honest enough not to guild the lilly.

"We’ve named (the potential sponsors) we’re talking to so they can check that and know (the commitment to raise further capital) are not figures plucked out of the air.

"They like what we’re doing (in the community) and they hold us up as the model for what everyone should be doing, so that’s positive.

"But it all gets back to the financials."

Mr Donaghy said the Taipans had remained positive throughout the application process and believed they deserved a place in the competition.

"The people of Cairns have supported us well enough to expect us to be in and it will be a reward for their support as well," he said.

Sydney is also expected to return to the competition, although the number of teams in the 2010-11 league was still unclear last night.

Share this article