[-Harlington-]

London, Ont., interested in potential hoops team



A Maritime contingent hoping to form a new Canadian minor professional basketball league is encouraged after a trip to London, Ont.

“Things went really well,” said Saint John Mill Rats president Ian McCarthy, who met with an interested ownership group along with Halifax Rainmen owner Andre Levingston.

“The city is very eager to see if things could work there, if they could help and assist, and the arena is very flexible.”

The Rainmen, Mill Rats and Quebec Kebs are without a league to play in after dropping out of the Premier Basketball League in mid-April. They say they need at least two more teams — Moncton, N.B., is the other top candidate — to make a new Canadian league work.

McCarthy returned to New Brunswick on Thursday but said Levingston is staying in Toronto over the weekend to meet with other potential ownership groups in Ontario.

He said things are still in the preliminary stages and no deadlines have been set for moving forward.

“We’ll wait to hear what Andre has to say on Monday,” McCarthy said.