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The Perth Wildcats won't feature in the opening round of the 2021 NBL season, as the league confirmed changes to the schedule on Saturday.
Opening round matches will be played exclusively in Brisbane and Adelaide due to border closures and coronavirus cases around the country, the Wildcats home matches against Melbourne United and New Zealand Breakers to be rescheduled.
The team returned from Brisbane on Sunday where they had been for pre-season matches against the Bullets, now in quarantine as per WA state government regulations.
“We are tremendously excited about NBL21 tipping off next Friday with five games scheduled over the first four days of the season and we can’t wait to play in front of as many fans as possible over the coming months," NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.
“The latest changes to the schedule have been made necessary by the developments in Queensland where we currently have five teams, Brisbane Bullets, Cairns Taipans, Melbourne United, Adelaide 36ers and Perth Wildcats.
“We will start the season in Cairns and Adelaide, but we will continue to monitor the situation in Brisbane in the hope we can also host a game there in the opening round. We will continue to stay flexible and be guided by the relevant state health authorities but our intention is still for all teams to play 14 home games across the season when they are able to do so.
“As always, we remain grateful to our clubs, players, officials, partners and fans for their understanding and patience as we navigate these ongoing challenges and now look forward to the start of our 43rd consecutive season.”
IMAGE: So Perth.