The abandoned clash between Geraldton Buccaneers and Goldfield Giants will not be replayed and has been declared a washout, according to the NBL1 West Commission.
Last Saturday’s match was abandoned at half-time due to high humidity at Activewest Stadium, which resulted in unsafe court conditions, forcing the game to be cancelled.
According to the league’s rules of operation, any matches abandoned before three-quarter time will be reviewed by the NBL1 West Commission to determine the feasibility of replaying the match within the remaining fixture.
As a result, the game has been declared a wash out and will be recorded as a “no game” with neither team recording a win or a loss. At the point it was cancelled, Geraldton were ahead 47-32.
The match, which was originally moved from a 7pm to a 4.30pm tip-off time to account for the inclement weather, saw conditions deteriorate to a point where players from both teams were slipping on-court.
In a statement released on Thursday, NBL1 West said safety and wellbeing of players, officials, coaches, volunteers and spectators remained the league’s priority.
“Safety within our league will always come first, and once the game was abandoned our focus shifted to identifying the fairest and most practical outcome for all parties,” league manager Brighton Pass said.
“Given the logistical challenges associated with two regionally based teams and the limited opportunities available within the current schedule, the commission determined that declaring the match a washout was the most appropriate outcome.”
On Sunday, Goldfields clarified the cancellation was not due to a leak and confirmed one player had sustained a minor injury due to the conditions.
“Players were slipping left, right and centre, and one of our players actually received a minor injury because of that,” it said.
“The decision to cancel the game was absolutely the right decision, and fully agreed to by both clubs and the referees.
“There were fully professional players out there, so to risk their careers due to something out of everyone’s control would have been foolhardy.”
Buccaneers coach Dayle Joseph said the no result was disappointing in the context of their season.
“It was pretty much gets pencilled in really as a loss for us rather than a win, so it’s a bit disappointing,” he said.
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