State Basketball League

Not to be confused with Super Basketball League.

State Basketball League (SBL)

Current season, competition or edition: 2020 State Basketball League season
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1989
Inaugural season	1989
Director	Adam Bowler
No. of teams	W: 12 M: 14
Country	Australia
Continent	FIBA Oceania (Oceania)
Most recent champion(s)	W: Rockingham Flames (3rd title) M: Geraldton Buccaneers (2nd title)
Most titles	W: Willetton Tigers (8 titles) M: Perry Lakes Hawks (6 titles)
Official website	SBL.asn.au

The State Basketball League (SBL) is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia. The league comprises both a women's and men's competition and is run by the state's governing body, Basketball Western Australia.

The league was founded in 1989 after Basketball Western Australia sought to expand their Perth-based District Competition. The SBL is one of six major state-based semi-professional leagues in Australia and sits under the country's two professional leagues – the NBL and WNBL.

History

Main article: Basketball Western Australia § History

The State Basketball League originated in 1972 as the District Competition. The District Competition was introduced by the Western Australian Basketball Federation (WABF) as an 'elite' competition held on Friday nights, featuring eight Perth-based associations from the prominent districts of Perth, Swan Districts, Tangney/Willetton, Subiaco, East Perth, Cockburn, Stirling, and Claremont. ^[1] In 1986, the competition was rebranded as the "State League". This name continued in 1987, but 1987 was something of a watershed year for the WABF, as the entire structure of the game in Western Australia was being reconsidered. ^[2]

A census in 1987 showed that 61 percent of WABF members were from country areas, so it was decided to try to include several country teams in the state's premier basketball league. The Perth Wildcats had a hugely successful season in 1987—reaching the NBL Grand Final in their first trip to the finals—attracting much television coverage, which saw basketball's popularity soar. In 1988, it was decided to form a State Basketball League for both men and women, and to develop it into an elite, statewide competition as soon as possible. This meant seeking out private owners and attracting corporate sponsorship, so as to not burden the association. As part of basketball's development, the Western Australian Institute of Sport men's team was included in the SBL under Warren Kuhn. ^[2]

Simon Leunig, who had been the WABF's development officer, was appointed general manager of the SBL, and set about organising an expanded league for 1989. His marketing strategy paid off, and three new franchises were established in country areas: the Rainbow Coast Raiders from Albany were the first, followed by the Batavia Buccaneers from Geraldton ^[3] and the Souwest Slammers from Bunbury. ^[2]

The expanded SBL, which was limited to men's teams in 1989, was sponsored by McDonald's and Skywest, with a $65,000 grant from the State Government to help with travel costs. ^[2]

Current teams

Cougars

Eagles

Wolves

Suns

Lightning

Hawks

Redbacks

Flames

Senators

Tigers

Locations of metropolitan SBL teams

Buccaneers

Giants

Magic

Slammers

Perth

Locations of regional SBL teams

WSBL

Team	Location	Arena	Joined SBL
Cockburn Cougars	Hamilton Hill, City of Cockburn	Wally Hagan Stadium	1989
East Perth Eagles	Mirrabooka, City of Stirling	Herb Graham Recreation Centre	1989
Joondalup Wolves	Joondalup, City of Joondalup	HBF Arena	1989
Kalamunda Eastern Suns	Lesmurdie, City of Kalamunda	Ray Owen Sports Centre	2008
Lakeside Lightning	North Lake, City of Cockburn	Lakeside Recreation Centre	2001
Mandurah Magic	Mandurah	Mandurah Aquatic & Recreation Centre	1996
Perry Lakes Hawks	Floreat, Town of Cambridge	Bendat Basketball Centre	1989
Perth Redbacks	Belmont, City of Belmont	Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre	1989
Rockingham Flames	Rockingham, City of Rockingham	Mike Barnett Sports Complex	1992
South West Slammers	Bunbury	Eaton Recreation Centre	1992
Warwick Senators	Warwick, City of Joondalup	Warwick Stadium	1989
Willetton Tigers	Willetton, City of Canning	Willetton Basketball Stadium	1989

MSBL

Team	Location	Arena	Joined SBL
Cockburn Cougars	Hamilton Hill, City of Cockburn	Wally Hagan Stadium	1989
East Perth Eagles	Mirrabooka, City of Stirling	Herb Graham Recreation Centre	1989
Geraldton Buccaneers	Geraldton	Activewest Stadium	1989
Goldfields Giants	Kalgoorlie	Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium	1990
Joondalup Wolves	Joondalup, City of Joondalup	HBF Arena	1989
Kalamunda Eastern Suns	Lesmurdie, City of Kalamunda	Ray Owen Sports Centre	2008
Lakeside Lightning	North Lake, City of Cockburn	Lakeside Recreation Centre	2000
Mandurah Magic	Mandurah	Mandurah Aquatic & Recreation Centre	1990
Perry Lakes Hawks	Floreat, Town of Cambridge	Bendat Basketball Centre	1989
Perth Redbacks	Belmont, City of Belmont	Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre	1989
Rockingham Flames	Rockingham, City of Rockingham	Mike Barnett Sports Complex	1994
South West Slammers	Bunbury	Eaton Recreation Centre	1989
Warwick Senators	Warwick, City of Joondalup	Warwick Stadium	1989
Willetton Tigers	Willetton, City of Canning	Willetton Basketball Stadium	1989

Regular season

During the Australian summer, teams begin preparing for the upcoming season, as they host try-outs and trial games, reacquire the services of returning players, and scout for overseas imports. By the end of February, most teams have had their imports arrive in Western Australia and begin training with the rest of the playing group. Import players are most commonly recruited from the United States, with each team allowed two 'restricted' players on their roster. ^[4] While most teams sign two imports, some do choose to fill a restricted player spot with a NBL or WNBL player.

In early March, the annual SBL Pre-Season Blitz tournament is held at either Warwick Stadium or Bendat Basketball Centre. ^{[5] [6]} The tournament is usually held over a weekend and features all 26 teams competing in a number of exhibition games.

During the regular season, each MSBL team plays 26 games, 13 each home and away; while each WSBL team plays 22 games, 11 each home and away. Games are played on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Special weekend blockbusters happen every year, such as Easter Round and Anzac Round, with games often being played on Easter Sunday and Anzac Day. Other special-occasion rounds include Women's Round, Rivalry Round and Heritage Round. ^[7] Prior to 2017, the MSBL was one of only a few leagues in the world (other than the NBA) to use the 48-minute game format. To align the competition with all State Leagues across Australia, as well as the NBL and international events such as World Cups and the Olympics, Basketball Western Australia made the decision to have the MSBL play under the 40-minute game format in-line with FIBA for the 2017 season. ^[8]

Every year since 2015, an SBL All-Star day is held on WA Day at Bendat Basketball Centre. ^[9] In 2019, after four years of North v South (north/south of the Swan River), the league introduced Australia v World for the first time. Other attractions of the day include a Three-Point Shootout during half-time of both the WSBL and MSBL All-Star games.

Around August, the regular season ends. 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 cannot be split after that, then for/against percentage is taken into account.

Finals

The SBL Finals begins in early August and finishes in early September, with the top eight teams in each competition (WSBL and MSBL) competing for their respective Championship. The first two rounds of the finals structure, the quarter-finals and semi-finals, are played using a best-of-three series. The higher ranked team hosts games one and three (if required), and plays 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. ^[10]

Every year, Basketball Western Australia hosts an SBL Grand Final weekend at Bendat Basketball Centre to determine the champion teams of the WSBL and MSBL, with the WSBL championship game on the Friday night and the MSBL championship game on the Saturday night. All Grand Finals have been played in a one-game championship decider, except in 1995 when a best-of-three series was introduced for both competitions.

League championships

The Hawks' 13 SBL championship banners (June 2019)

Main article: List of State Basketball League champions

The Willetton Tigers have won the most championships in the women's competition with 8 WSBL Grand Final wins, while the Perry Lakes Hawks have won the most championships in the men's competition with 6 MSBL Grand Final wins. The Lady Hawks have also amassed seven titles, making Perry Lakes the most successful club in SBL history with a total of 13 championships.

WSBL			MSBL
Teams		Year(s) won	Teams		Year(s) won
Willetton Tigers	8	1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016	Perry Lakes Hawks	6	1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2018
Perry Lakes Hawks	7	1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2017	Perth Redbacks	4	1989, 1990, 1997, 2017
Joondalup Wolves	4	1990, 1992, 1995, 2013	South West Slammers	4	1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
Swan City Mustangs †	3	1991, 1993, 1996	Lakeside Lightning	4	2005, 2006, 2009, 2013
Rockingham Flames	3	2014, 2015, 2019	Cockburn Cougars	3	1992, 2012, 2016
Perth Redbacks	2	1989, 2000	Joondalup Wolves	3	1993, 2011, 2015
Lakeside Lightning	2	2006, 2018	Geraldton Buccaneers	2	2000, 2019
Warwick Senators	1	1994	Goldfields Giants	2	2007, 2008
South West Slammers	1	2012	Swan City Mustangs †	1	1991
			Willetton Tigers	1	2010
			East Perth Eagles	1	2014
† indicates club is not a current member of the SBL

See also

• List of State Basketball League awards
• List of State Basketball League champions

References

1. Pekin, Lyndsay (2009). "Time-out for Perry Lakes Stadium". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
2. McDonald's State Basketball League Handbook 1989. Western Australian Basketball Federation (Inc.). 1989. pp. 7–9.
3. "History of the Buccs". GeraldtonBuccaneers.com.au. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
4. "State Basketball League Restricted Player Policy". SportsTG.com. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
5. "SBL Pre-Season Blitz Fixtures Released". SportsTG.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
6. "SBL PRE-SEASON BLITZ". sbl.asn.au. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
7. "2017 SBL Fixtures Released". SportsTG.com. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
8. "SBL Moves to 40 Minute Game Format". SportsTG.com. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
9. Wright, Julian (25 May 2016). "SBL Swish All Star Games to raise money for suicide prevention services". CommunityNews.com.au. Guardian Express. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
10. "SBL Finals Re-structure". SportsTG.com. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to State Basketball League .

• SBL official website