Bankstown Bruins

Last updated

Bankstown Bruins
Bankstown Bruins logo.jpeg
Leagues NBL1 East
Founded1979
History NBL :
Bankstown Bruins
1979–1985
West Sydney Westars
1986–1987
Waratah League / NBL1 East :
Bankstown Bruins
1991–present
Arena Bankstown Basketball Stadium
Capacity2,500
Location Sydney, New South Wales
Team colorsNavy blue & white
  
CEOChristian Gobolos
Championships4 (1993, 1996, 1997, 2016) (M)
10 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015) (W)
Website BruinsBasketball.com.au

Bankstown Bruins is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.

Contents

Club history

Background

In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL) for the league's inaugural season. In 1983, Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of the NBL Coach of the Year Award after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in 1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. The team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the 1986 NBL season. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the 1987 season, the Westars merged with the Sydney Supersonics to become the Sydney Kings. [1]

Waratah League / NBL1 East

The Bankstown Bruins re-emerged in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Waratah League. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women won a three-peat of championships between 1997 and 1999. [2] Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning seven championships between 2003 and 2015, [2] while the men collected their fourth title in 2016. [3]

The Waratah League was rebranded as NBL1 East for the 2022 season. [4] The women's team did not enter the 2022 NBL1 East season. [5] They returned for the 2023 NBL1 East season. [6]

Season by season

NBL championsLeague championsRunners-upFinals berth
SeasonTierLeagueRegular seasonPost-seasonHead coach
FinishPlayedWinsLossesWin %
Bankstown Bruins
1979 1 NBL 9th18315.167Did not qualifyShaun O'Connell
1980 1 NBL 12th22319.136Did not qualifySteve Fairnham
Shaun O'Connell
1981 1 NBL 11th22715.318Did not qualifySteve Fairnham
1982 1 NBL 14th26224.077Did not qualify Robbie Cadee
1983 1 NBL 5th221210.545Did not qualifyRobbie Cadee
1984 1 NBL 7th241014.417Did not qualifyRobbie Cadee
1985 1 NBL 12th26620.231Did not qualifyRobbie Cadee
Claude William
West Sydney Westars
1986 1 NBL 4th261511.577Lost elimination final (Illawarra) 86–105Robbie Cadee
1987 1 NBL 11th26818.308Did not qualifyMike Osbourne
Regular season record21266146.3110 regular season champions
Finals record101.0000 NBL championships

As of the end of the 1987 season

*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.

Source: West Sydney Westars Year by Year

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References

  1. The NBL's defunct franchises: Sydney Astronauts, Launceston Casino City, Singapore Slingers, and more
  2. 1 2 History – Waratah Basketball League
  3. 2016 MOLTEN WARATAH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
  4. "NBL1 East teams unveiled". NBL1.com.au. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. "A difficult decision has been made to withdraw the Women's NBL1 team for the 2022 season..." facebook.com/bankstown.bruins. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  6. "Bankstown announce NBL1 women's team". NBL1.com.au. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2024.