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THE sudden extinction of the Crocodiles in Townsville could have been averted – and perhaps still could be – if someone was prepared to under-write the NBL battlers to the tune of $500,000.

But if it hasn’t happened upto now, it is difficult to conceive it happening anytime in the immediate future, the doors closing on a club which has been a league stalwart since 1993.

The Crocs informed the NBL on Tuesday the club had received expressions of interest regarding the ownership, despite falling $690,000-$800,000 short of their 2015-16 financial projections.

The Crocs blamed that on their high volume of home midweek games and 6.30pm tip-offs which never was going to fly in Townsville.

Even the season’s most anticipated and successful annual matches - the Reptile Rumbles against northern rival Cairns  – suffered, with one scheduled midweek, erasing the chance of additional Taipans fans making the trek.

Townsville’s other home Rumble with the Taipans on a Saturday drew its biggest attendance of the season.

Whether the NBL today has blood on its hands and is complicit in the Crocs’ demise, truth is Townsville for several years now has been unable to consistently draw sufficient corporate or wider community support.

Shawn Dennis was named Coach of the Year, Nick Kay won the Rookie of the Year and Clint Steindl (pictured) was Most Improved, the Crocodiles’ on-court product exciting and at times spectacular to watch.

But off-court the difficulties have been ever-present, a previous management handing in the license when the league was under Basketball Australia’s auspices, then this time last year entering voluntary administration.

With the Cowboys and the Fire – to name just two – sporting teams flourishing in Townsville, the Crocs have been struggling.

Promises have been made to them, some kept, some broken.

Dennis has been busy on his player hunt, Luke Schenscher and Mitch Norton under contract and an announcement Kay had been retained imminent.

Now it is all over.

“Today, we close the doors on an incredible chapter of NBL history,” the club this evening wrote on its Facebook page.

“The club would like to sincerely thank the staff, players, volunteers and fans for being on the journey with us.”

Crocs Chairman Andrew Gisinger said: “The club worked tirelessly with the support of the NBL throughout 2015-16 to position the club to be a financially viable and sustainable organisation.

“Despite these efforts and the strong support of the Townsville community, the conclusion has been drawn that the business is not in a financially viable position to conduct its operations in 2016-17.

“The license will be handed back to the NBL and the business will be returned to the Administrators.”

The NBL accepted the decision, with GM Jeremy Loeliger releasing a statement.

“In order for the NBL to be one of the strongest basketball leagues in the world, we must have teams that are commercially sustainable – we cannot allow our players, fans or sponsors to have any lingering doubt as to the longevity of our clubs,” he said.

“Despite the best endeavours of Townsville’s management and support team, the Board has resolved there isn’t a viable business case for the Townsville Crocodiles to continue as part of the NBL.

“We will always do everything we can to support all of our teams to ensure this is one of the leading competitions in the world and we spent considerable time reviewing the Townsville situation and trying to generate local support for the Crocodiles.

“However there is no point in trying to sustain a club that has itself resolved that it cannot survive in its home town.

“In reviewing the competition and contracting system in recent times, we were very conscious of not restricting the competition to cater to the lowest common denominator, but instead setting it up to be everything that it possibly can be.

“Queensland will still be well represented in the competition with Brisbane and Cairns.”

And there’s the rub, probably.

With Brisbane represented again, there is a growing belief the League’s patience with the financial issues faced by regional teams is at or very near an end.

Capital city teams steadily will be the focus, with teams from Asia also expected to participate in the home-away competition, as early as 2017-18.

The loss of Townsville remains a blot on the competition, given all the club gave, especially in its early years of consistent sell-outs and ballsy gambles, such as recruiting Lithuanian superstar Rimas Kurtinaitis as the League’s first European import.

Mark Bragg, Ian Stacker, Trevor Gleeson and Shawn Dennis led the team to great heights and the Crocs utilised a who’s who list of great players, from Kurtinaitis, to Ray Owes, Derek Rucker (pictured), Rob Rose, Sam Mackinnon, Mike Kelly, Andrew Goodwin, Brad Newley, Clarence Tyson, Corey Williams, Todd Blanchfield, Larry Abney, Pat Reidy and Brian Conklin, to rattle off just a few.

Peter Crawford, John Rillie, Russell Hinder, Brad Sheridan, Jacob Holmes, Luke Schenscher, David Blades, Kieron Mitchellhill, the Cedar brothers, Kelvin Robertson, Mitch Norton – a great many players produced their best basketball in Townsville.

This was a club which stood up when the League looked likely to fall over before BA stepped in. It has been integral in the survival of the NBL.

It is a sad day indeed to see the Crocs finally, formally, extinct.

The players and coach will be paid in full until the end of their current contracts, June 30.

Unless you have a spare $500,000 though, today is the Crocs’ end of days.