Saint John Riptide to take one-year sabbatical from NBL

Andrew Holmes had expected to be back on the hardwood with the Saint John Riptide this season, but now he's looking for another place to play.

The basketball team will be taking a one-year sabbatical from the National Basketball League of Canada with the intent of returning for the 2020-21 season.

"For me especially I was looking forward to my second season," said Holmes. "I'd been putting a lot of work in this summer, and to hear that is a disappointment."

• Saint John basketball team changes its name to Riptide

Holmes is from Hampton, N.B., and played professional basketball in Asia before moving back home to play.

He said he has some other jobs to fall back on, but the decision to take a year off has left some of his teammates scrambling.

The Riptide isn't the only team taking a break. The Cape Breton Highlanders are also sitting out for the year.

New management

The Saint John Riptidecame under new ownership this off-season, but some of the team's past financial difficulties turned out to be bigger than the new ownership had thought.

Audley Stephenson, the NBL's deputy commissioner, said ownership came to the league and asked for time to stabilize its finances.

Stephenson said he is confident both the Riptide and the Highlanders will be back.

"Given what we've gotten from both of them in terms of the commitments of the organization, in terms of their desire to ensure there's a strong foothold in place,we haveno evidence that would suggest they wouldn't return," he said.

Saint John and Cape Breton are the first teams to ask the league for a year off. Stephenson said there will be no shortage of talent when the two teams restock their rosters after the year is up.

Momentum

Holmes said the past year had been a strong one for team, with more fans coming out to games, but a year off could be a step back.

"It's really unfortunate because the last month or so, the last couple of months of the season, the energy was really building up behind the team," said Holmes

He said the team had been doing a great job at getting into the community, visiting schoolsand building a fan base.

"Just that one-year gap can really slow things down, so hopefullywe can get things turned around, but, yeah, itdefinitely was disappointing just because I think we were trending upwards."

Stephenson said the break could be beneficial.

"Is there concern there, sure," said Stephenson. "But I think that speaks to how important it is that there is a solid plan moving forward."