The Auckland Tuatara have been dealt a blow with American import Chris Cokley unable to arrive in time to qualify for the Sal’s NBL playoffs.
That means he is not eligible to take to the court and will instead remain in the United States.
Cokley had been scheduled to arrive in time for this weekend’s double-header against the Southland Sharks and Otago Nuggets but missed his flight out of Savannah, Georgia where he resides.
He wasn’t able to get out in time to play this weekend, making him ineligible to play in the Sal’s NBL this season.
“It is a frustrating situation for us all,” Auckland Tuatara GM of Sport and Communication Dale Budge said.
“Getting an import into New Zealand is not a simple case of booking a flight. You have to get clearances from their last professional club, clearances from FIBA, a foreign player licence and you need the appropriate paperwork to legally enter New Zealand to work. It can be a two-week process and then you have to fly the player over.
“We always knew Chris Johnson was going to be heading home in mid-June and the plan was for Dan Fotu to slide into the starting line-up but unfortunately Dan got injured.
“We then started to look for available import players and settled on Chris. There was a race to get all the appropriate clearances to play and also to get him into New Zealand.
“It is super frustrating after all that effort for him to miss the flight and essentially miss the deadline to get here this season. It also means we have missed the chance to find an alternative.
“Having said that, we love this group of players and have complete faith that they will be able to compete for the title this season.
“We have a couple of tricks up our sleeve that will hopefully give us a boost down the stretch.”
The Tuatara take on the Sharks in Invercargill tonight and then play the Nuggets in Dunedin on Sunday afternoon.