The National Basketball League of Canada has officially announced the cancellation of the 2020-21 season.
The eight team league which includes the defending champion Moncton Magic had previously announced that play would resume March 12.
However, the NBL Canada board of directors has decided to cancel the season as a result of ongoing safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re extremely disappointed at not being able to get back on the court and play our tenth season as planned. However the safety of our fans, players and everyone associated with our game is paramount,” said deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson.
“We’ll continue to use the time away to prepare for our milestone season when we return to play and strengthen our business processes”.
Stephenson added, “The hope is that we would have seen a significant difference that would allow us to play however the continuing increase in COVID-19 case counts, the rise of the new variants and the inability to have fans in our venues makes it difficult to do so.”
The league cancelled the 2019-20 season last March as sports leagues across North America shut down amid the pandemic.
NBL Canada will announce details about the 2021-22 regular season at a later date.