State Basketball League
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Current season, competition or edition: 2016 State Basketball League season |
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| 200px | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Inaugural season | 1989 |
| Director | Adam Bowler |
| No. of teams | M: 14 W: 12 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | M: Joondalup Wolves (3rd title) W: Rockingham Flames (2nd title) |
| Most titles | M: Perry Lakes Hawks (5 titles) W: Willetton Tigers (7 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Official website | SBL.asn.au |
The State Basketball League (SBL) is a semi-professional basketball league in the Australian state of Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. The competition is run by Basketball Western Australia and began in 1989 when it replaced Perth's local District competition. The MSBL and WSBL act as development leagues for players attempting to enter the first-tier professional basketball leagues in Australia with players traditionally being trialled or signed by the Perth Wildcats of the NBL or the Perth Lynx of the WNBL.
Contents
League history
The State Basketball League was founded in 1989 and replaced Perth's local District competition. The founding teams for the inaugural 1989 season were the Geraldton Buccaneers, Perry Lakes Hawks, Perth Redbacks, Willetton Tigers, Wanneroo Wolves, East Perth Eagles, Stirling Senators, Bunbury Slammers, WAIS Warriors, Rainbow Coast (Albany) Warriors, Cockburn Cougars and Swan City Mustangs.[1] The Redbacks were both men's and women's champions in the league's first season,[2] while the women's MVP went to Sue Arthur of the Cockburn Cougars, and the men's MVP was a tie between Pete Hanson of the Perry Lakes Hawks and Jeff Anderson of the Willetton Tigers.[3]
The 1990s were dominated in the men's competition by the Bunbury Slammers who won four titles between 1995 and 1999, while the women's competition was dominated by the Swan City Mustangs and the Willetton Tigers – between 1991 and 1999, every women's grand final featured at least one of those teams except for the 1994 season.[4]
With the turn of the new century came the uprising of the Perry Lakes Hawks in both the men's and women's competition. From 2001 to 2003, both the Hawks men's and women's teams won back-to-back-to-back titles, with the men's team going even further by winning in 2004 before being stopped in their tracks by the Lakeside Lightning in the 2005 grand final. The men's team went on to also make the grand final in 2009 and 2011, while the women's team also won another two titles in 2007 and 2008.
In 2011, the men's grand final between the Wanneroo Wolves and the Perry Lakes Hawks became the first event to sell out the WA Basketball Centre since the venue's opening in early 2010. It's 2,000 seat capacity was sold out, forcing Basketball WA to release 100 standing room tickets.[5] The Wolves were successful in defeating the Hawks to claim their first title since 1993, as they were led by Perth Wildcats forward and Grand Final MVP Greg Hire.[6]
In 2014, a changing of the guard occurred with the men's East Perth Eagles and the women's Rockingham Flames earning their first SBL titles respectively. 400-gamer and SBL legend Joe-Alan Tupaea secured his fifth title with the Eagles in 2014, having previously won four titles with the Perry Lakes Hawks during their four-straight run between 2001 and 2004.[7]
League details
Game day
MSBL games are played with 4x12 minute quarters and WSBL play with 4x10 minute quarters, with the switch of ends made at half time. Quarter time and three-quarter time breaks are two minutes long, while the half time interval lasts 15 minutes in MSBL, and 10 minutes in WSBL. If games are tied at the end of regulation time, then an additional five minutes (overtime) shall be played. This will keep happening until an overall winner is decided. There can not be any draws. All games are played under the FIBA guidelines of rules.
Regular season
The regular season starts mid-March and finishes around August, with each team playing a total of 26 games (play each team twice, one at home and one away). Games are played on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Games are also played on ANZAC Day and Foundation Day.
The teams are ranked according to their win/loss ratio. If at the end of the regular season, two or more teams have an identical record, then positions are decided on a head-to-head basis. If they can not be split after that, than the for/against percentage is taken into account.
Finals
The finals start in early August and finishes in early September, is competed among the top eight teams, and are contested in an elimination format. The quarter- and semi-finals are played using a best-of-three game series. The higher ranked team host games one and three (if required), and play game two away; with an exception being: any playoff series involving Geraldton or Goldfields will be played under the pre-2016 format with the higher ranked team playing away for game one, then home for games two and three.[8] The grand finals are played at the Western Australian Basketball Centre over a weekend with the women's final on the Friday night and the men's final on Saturday.
Quarter-finals: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5
Semi-finals: The winner of 1 v 8 vs The winner of 4 v 5; The winner of 2 v 7 vs The winner of 3 v 6
Current clubs
| Team | City | Arena | Colours | Joined SBL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cockburn Cougars | Cockburn, City of Cockburn | Wally Hagan Stadium | Blue, Yellow, White | 1989 |
| East Perth Eagles | Morley, City of Bayswater | Morley Sport & Recreation Centre | Blue, Red, White | 1989 |
| Geraldton Buccaneers* | Geraldton | Activewest Stadium | Blue, Yellow | 1989 |
| Goldfields Giants* | Kalgoorlie | Niels Hansen Stadium | Gold, White, Navy Blue | 1990 |
| Joondalup Wolves | Joondalup, City of Joondalup | Joondalup Basketball Stadium | Green, White | 1989 |
| Kalamunda Eastern Suns | Kalamunda, Shire of Kalamunda | Ray Owen Sports Centre | Orange, Purple, Black | 2008 |
| Lakeside Lightning | North Lake, City of Cockburn | Lakeside Recreation Centre | Purple, White | 2000 |
| Mandurah Magic | Mandurah | Mandurah Aquatic and Recreaction Centre** | Red, Gold | 1990 |
| Perry Lakes Hawks | Floreat, Town of Cambridge | Bendat Basketball Centre | Blue, White | 1989 |
| Perth Redbacks | Belmont, City of Belmont | Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre | Red, Black, White | 1989 |
| Rockingham Flames | Rockingham | Mike Barnett Sports Complex | Red, Orange, Black, White | 1992 |
| South West Slammers | Bunbury | Eaton Recreation Centre | Red, Blue, White | 1989 |
| Stirling Senators | Warwick, City of Stirling | Warwick Stadium | Green, Blue, White | 1989 |
| Willetton Tigers | Willetton, City of Canning | Willetton Basketball Stadium | Navy Blue, White | 1989 |
*Geraldton and Goldfields only participate in the men's competition.
**Due to renovations to the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, the Magic will host all of their 2016 games out of Rockingham's home venue at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.
Former clubs
- Albany Warriors
- Swan City Mustangs
- WAIS Warriors
List of Champions
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* 1995 Grand Finals were a best-of-three series[4]
