Big V season over for Warrnambool teams as league makes call amid COVID-19 restrictions

The Seahawks and Mermaids, who are among a number of regional-based sides, won't feature in the delayed division one men's and women's final series.

MORE BASKETBALL: NBL title next goal for south-west Olympic medallist

President Jacob Sobey told The Standard he heard from Big V officials on Wednesday afternoon about their plan.

"They are going to cancel the last two rounds of the season and once lockdown ends, whenever that may be, they are going to move straight into a final four," he said.

"It means both of our teams won't be in that and it will wrap everything up for the year."

Sobey said despite the hurdles the two teams faced in 2021, including numerous lockdowns, it was important they played, especially after no games last year.

"Talking to (Mermaids coach) Lee (Primmer) just then I think the girls are still eager to keep training and developing which is fantastic and we definitely encourage that," he said.

"On the other end, there are probably some aspects of the program that are over the drawn-out year to be honest.

"It's been a tough year for everyone, on and off the court.

"We'll regroup and work out what our plan is for the next 12 to 18 months.

"Hopefully we can maintain the core groups of our programs and maintain our coaches as well but we'll take some time away now to regroup."

Sobey said it was important to keep the pathway open to players.

"We saw the upside of getting teams back onto the court and crowds back to the Arc," he said.

"Otherwise you start to lose momentum. Even with the Olympics going on, we want to ride that momentum going into next year and that enthusiasm going into basketball."