NBL Canada declares Express league champions after Halifax forfeits

Officials announce the cancellation of Game 7 of the NBL championship between the Windsor Express and the Halifax Rainmen in Windsor, Ont. on Thursday, April 30, 2015. (Sacha Long / CTV Windsor)

WINDSOR, Ont. -- Game 7 of the National Basketball League Canada's championship series was called off on Thursday night after an altercation between Windsor and Halifax players led to the Rainmen not showing up for the game.

The league's board of governors held a meeting on Thursday night, ruling that as per league rules, the Rainmen had forfeited by not appearing for the game. As a result the Windsor Express have been named Champions for the 2015 season.

The incident occurred Thursday morning during shootarounds as both teams prepared for the decisive game. The Rainmen's front office felt it was unsafe for the team to compete Thursday night and did not show up for the game.

"At the end of the day, a championship is a championship," said Express head coach and director of basketball operations Bill Jones in a statement. "It's unfortunate we couldn't do it on the court, but we gave them a chance to play us for that championship and they didn't do that."

In a statement released hours before the game the Rainmen said they would not play due to safety concerns.

"Today is truly a black eye for our league, when the games is not safe for players to compete there is a problem," said Halifax team owner Andre Levingston in a statement. "We have to do a better job of governing our league and putting principles in place where there are strict consequences.

"I've played basketball all my life and have the utmost respect for the game, but what I witnessed today leaves me saddened, not just for me but for our fans, our partners and community who fought so hard to get us to this point."

Matt Dumouchelle, a spokesman for the Express, told The Canadian Press that no players were injured at the shootaround and that it was unclear how the championship series would be completed.."

The names of the players involved in the incident have not been disclosed.