Frankston Blues

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Frankston Blues
Frankston Blues.png
Leagues NBL1 South
Founded1981
HistoryMen:
Frankston Bears
1981–1984
Bayside Blues
1986–1993
Frankston Blues
1994–present
Women:
Frankston Bears
1984
Bayside Blues
1990–1992
Frankston Blues
1993–present
ArenaJubilee Park Stadium
Location Frankston, Victoria
Team colorsNavy blue, light blue and white
   
Main sponsorFrankston RSL
Powerade
CEOWayne Holdsworth
PresidentTim Bower
Vice-presidentGrant Dennis
Head coachM: Andrew Harms
W: Jo Wood
ChampionshipsMen:
ABA (1)
SEABL (1)
Women:
ABA (3)
SEABL (3)
Conference titlesMen:
SEABL (6)
Website fdba.com.au

Frankston Blues is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the City of Frankston. The Blues play their home games at Jubilee Park Stadium.

Contents

Club history

Background

Frankston Basketball was established in 1959. In 1979, the Association moved into the Bardia Avenue stadium. [1] That same year, the Frankston representative program was developed by Jason Placas, with the team competing in the VBA Championships in 1979 and 1980. [1] [2]

SEABL and NBL

In 1981, the Frankston Bears debuted in the inaugural season of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). The Bears finish second on the SEABL ladder [3] before going on to reach the ABA National grand final, where they lost to the Geelong Cats. [4] The following year, the Bears won the SEABL championship and ABA National championship. [5] [6]

As a result of their success in 1982, the Bears joined the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1983 season, but following the 1984 season, they left the NBL due to financial pressures becoming too much for the Association to handle. [1] Also in 1984, a Frankston Bears women's team played in the inaugural season of the Women's Basketball Conference. [7]

In 1986, Frankston joined forces with neighbouring Chelsea Association to form the Bayside Blues Basketball Club. This Club represented both Associations from 1986 to 1995, when Chelsea opted out because of financial commitments. [1] During this time, a Bayside Blues team joined the inaugural SEABL women's season in 1990. [3]

In 1991, the Bayside women finished second on the SEABL ladder [3] and reached the ABA National grand final, where they lost to the Dandenong Rangers. [4] In 1992, Bayside finished third on the SEABL ladder [3] and reached ABA National grand final, where they lost to the Knox Raiders. [4] In 1993, the Frankston Blues women finished first on the SEABL ladder [3] to win their maiden SEABL championship. [5] [6] They went on to defeat the Broadmeadows Broncos in the ABA National grand final to win their first ABA championship. [4] In 1994, they finished second on the SEABL ladder [3] and reached their fourth straight ABA National grand final, where they lost to the Knox Raiders. [4] In 1997, they finished first on the SEABL ladder [3] and won their second SEABL championship. [5] [6] They went on to defeat the Townsville Sunbirds in the ABA National grand final to win their second ABA championship. [4]

In 1992 and 1993, the Bayside men back-to-back SEABL conference championships. [8] The team changed names to Frankston in 1994. [3] The Blues men went on to win conference championships in 1995, 1998 and 2000, and were ABA National Runners-up in 1995 and 1998. [4]

In 2004, the women's team won the SEABL championship, [6] while the men's team won the South Conference title in 2009. [9]

NBL1

In 2019, following the demise of the SEABL, the Blues joined the NBL1 South. [10] In 2022 at the NBL1 National Finals, the Blues men lost 85–74 in the championship game to the Rockingham Flames. [11]

In July 2025, the Blues played their first NBL1 game at the new Jubilee Park Stadium. [12]

NBL Season by season

NBL championsLeague championsRunners-upFinals berth
SeasonTierLeagueRegular seasonPost-seasonHead coach
FinishPlayedWinsLossesWin %
Frankston Bears
1983 1 NBL 6th22616.273Did not qualifyTony Gaze
1984 1 NBL 8th241014.417Did not qualifyTony Gaze
Regular season record461630.3480 regular season champions
Finals record000.0000 NBL championships

As of the end of the 1984 season

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "HISTORY OF FRANKSTON BASKETBALL". FrankstonBasketball.asn.au. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "FRANKSTON BLUES – HISTORY". BluesBasketball.net.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "SEABL Ladders History" (PDF). seabl.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "ABA PREMIER AND RUNNERS-UP CLUBS". ABABasketball.net.au. Archived from the original on 7 April 2001.
  5. 1 2 3 "PAST CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2002.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "FORMER CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "FLASHBACK 99a: NWBL, WBC 1986". botinagy.com. 30 July 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "SEABL ALL TIME AWARD WINNERS" (PDF). SEABL.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "RAIDERS WIN 2009 SEABL CHAMPIONSHIP". SportsTG.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2017. The Knox Ford Raiders have secured the 2009 SEABL Championship after an emphatic 125-98 victory over the favoured South Conference Champion Frankston Blues on Saturday night in front of over 1,800 spectators at MSAC (Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre). ... Earlier in the evening, the Raiders unfortunately couldn't make it a double celebration as the Knox Ford Raiders SEABL Women were defeated by the Brisbane Lady Spartans 77-69 in their Grand Final.
  10. ↑ "NBL1 to Showcase Next Level of Australia's Basketball Talent". NBL.com.au. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "NBL1 National Finals Recap | Men's Championship Game". nbl1.com.au. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "NBL1 FINALS ARE COMING TO JUBILEE PARK STADIUM". Frankston & District Basketball Association. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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