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| Port City Power | |
|---|---|
| League | The Basketball League 2025–present |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Location | Saint John, New Brunswick |
| Team colours | Royal blue, red, grey, black, white |
| Head coach | Rob Spon |
The Port City Power are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, and a member of The Basketball League (TBL).
It was announced that Saint John, New Brunswick, would be awarded a franchise for the upcoming 2025 TBL season. On July 30, 2024, it was named the Port City Power with Rob Spon as head coach and general manager. Rob Spon, the former head coach for the Saint John Riptide of the National Basketball League of Canada, will return as head coach and general manager. It was also announced that the team had signed its first player, Anthony Anderson. [1]
Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of George III. The port is Canada's third-largest by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise. The city has a strong industrial base, including oil refining and manufacturing, matched with finance and tourism sectors and research institutions such as the New Brunswick Museum and the University of New Brunswick. Saint John was the most populous in New Brunswick until the 2016 census, when it was overtaken by Moncton. It is currently the second-largest city in the province, with a population of 69,895 over an area of 315.59 km2 (121.85 sq mi).
The Halifax Rainmen were a professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the Atlantic Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) and their home games took place at the Scotiabank Centre, formerly known as the Halifax Metro Centre. Andre Levingston was the owner of the Rainmen since he helped establish the team in 2006. The team played their first season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, after becoming unhappy with the ABA, they moved to the Premier Basketball League (PBL) for the next three seasons. In 2011, they joined the NBL Canada as one of the original seven teams. Despite showing success in the four seasons they spent in the Canadian league, making two Finals appearances, the Rainmen filed for bankruptcy in July 2015. The team was coming off a controversial loss in the 2015 NBL Canada Finals against the Windsor Express and forfeited Game 7 after taking part in a pre-game brawl. The Halifax Hurricanes, with a larger ownership group than the Rainmen's single owner, replaced the Rainmen in NBL Canada for the 2015–16 season.
The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada in the Atlantic Division. The team was one of two professional basketball teams from the province of New Brunswick, the other being the Moncton Magic.
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Robert Spon is an American professional basketball coach, most recently serving as the head coach for the Cape Breton Highlanders of the National Basketball League of Canada. He has previously led the Rochester RazorSharks, the Halifax Rainmen, Saint John Mill Rats/Riptide, and several other minor league teams in the past. Spon also has experience coaching the Dakota Wizards, Indiana Alleycats, and Pittsburgh Xplosion in the Continental Basketball Association.
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