The NBL Players Association has demanded clarification from league officials over rules surrounding the eligibility of players from the FIBA Oceania region.

Heavyweight clubs Perth and New Zealand have both exploited a loophole over the off-season to sign players born overseas as unrestricted locals.

The Wildcats cut Mathiang Muo from their roster this month to make room for former University of Missouri guard Earnest Ross.

Ross, who was born in Guam and raised in the United States, will be one of five overseas-born players on the Wildcats’ 10-man roster this season.

Because Guam is part of the FIBA Oceania region which includes Australia, he has been allowed to sign as an unrestricted local player in the NBL.

But there is debate over whether such a rule actually exists.

NBLPA president Jacob Holmes said the representative body expected clarification from league officials by the end of the week, with the two parties due to meet on Sunday at the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament in Brisbane.

“There are numerous issues with it, but the first one is clarification over the ruling,” Holmes said.

“The information we have is that there isn’t such a ruling in the NBL rules.

“But if there is, we’d like to understand where it sits, when it came into place and under what agreement with the NBLPA.

“Obviously you’d think the players would be privy to that information and I haven’t got any on my records.

“So we’d like to firstly cover that and then understand the rationale behind it in terms of its impact on the league and the players.”

The Wildcats yesterday confirmed American guard Drake U’u as the final piece of their roster after he successfully challenged his player points rating.

U’u played as a four-point player under the controversial equalisation system last season, but was re-rated as a two-point player after playing a minor role off the bench in the Wildcats’ championship team.

He averaged 2.3 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 32 games.

Rated at two points, U’u takes the Wildcats to the brink of the 70-point cap.

The California product qualifies as a local because his mother was born in Australia.

He will play alongside fellow Americans DeAndre Daniels and Jermaine Beal, who fill the allocated import spots.

Nebraska-born Wildcats veteran Shawn Redhage began his NBL career as an import, but was naturalised six years ago and represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics.