Swan City Mustangs

Swan City Mustangs
Leagues	State Basketball League
Founded	1989
Dissolved	2003
History	Swan City Mustangs 1989–1996; 1999–2003
Arena	Swan Park Leisure Centre
Location	Midvale, Western Australia
Team colors	Black, white, red
Championships	4
Website	SwansBasketball.com

Swan City Mustangs was a State Basketball League (SBL) club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fielded a team in both the Men's SBL (MSBL) and Women's SBL (WSBL). The club was a division of the now-defunct Swan Districts Basketball Association (SDBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the City of Swan. The Mustangs played their home games at Swan Park Leisure Centre.

Club history

Background

Swan Districts Basketball Association (SDBA) was founded in 1964. ^[1] Swans entered the District Competition in 1974, with the men's team winning the grand final that year under coach Bob Muir. ^[1] The association's next A-grade premiership came in 1982 when the women's team were victorious under the guidance of coach Fred Pesqua. ^[1] The women's team won again in 1983, ^[2] while the men's team won their second A-grade premiership in 1985. ^[3] Swan Districts continued on in the District Competition—now known as the "State League"—in 1986 before sitting out the 1987 and 1988 A-grade seasons.

Formation of the SBL (1989)

1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. Swan Districts entered a team into both the MSBL and WSBL, with both teams recording winless inaugural seasons. ^{[4] [5]}

Dominant SBL force (1990–1996)

In 1990, the Mustangs women saw just one win, while the men earned the MSBL minor premiership with a first-place finish and a 23–3 record. In 1991, both teams collected minor premierships and earned grand final berths. In the WSBL Grand Final, the Mustangs defeated the Perth Redbacks 79–66; and in the MSBL Grand Final, the Mustangs defeated the Souwest Slammers 123–120. ^[6]

In 1992, the women made their second straight WSBL Grand Final after again collecting the minor premiership. In the championship decider however, they were defeated by the Wanneroo Wolves 74–64. In 1993, the women won their third straight minor premiership and advanced through to a third straight grand final. In the 1993 WSBL Grand Final, the Mustangs defeated the Stirling Senators 109–51 to win their second championship. In 1994, the women won their fourth straight minor premiership, but failed to make the WSBL Grand Final. The men meanwhile finished the regular season in second place and advanced through to the 1994 MSBL Grand Final. In the championship decider however, they were defeated by the Perry Lakes Hawks 107–86. ^[6]

In 1995, the women finished the regular season in second place and advanced through to the WSBL Grand Final, where they faced the first-seeded Wanneroo Wolves. In what was the first and only best-of-three grand final series, the Wolves defeated the Mustangs 2–0, winning 83–49 in Game 1 and 60–55 in Game 2. In 1996, the women collected their fifth minor premiership in six years and advanced through to their fifth grand final in six years. In the 1996 WSBL Grand Final, the Mustangs defeated the Willetton Tigers 66–61 to win their third championship. ^[6]

Final years in SBL (1999–2003)

In 1999, the Mustangs returned to the SBL after a two-year hiatus. In their first season back, the women finished in last place on the ten-team ladder with a 1–26 record, while the men finished 13th out of 14 teams with a 5–21 record. ^[7] In 2000, the women went winless in the 11-team WSBL, while the men finished in sixth place in the seven-team West Conference with a 5–14 record. ^[8] In 2001, the women had their second straight winless season, while the men also finished last with a 2–24 record. ^[9] In 2002, the women had their third straight winless season, while the men finished 13th out of 14 teams with a 4–22 record. ^[10] Despite the record, Mustangs captain Jarrad Mohr was named joint Men's MVP in 2002 alongside Kurt Slabolepszy of the Stirling Senators. ^[11] Mohr joined Ken Epperson (1993) as the only Mustangs players to earn MVP honours. ^[12] In 2003, the women fared slightly better than their previous four seasons, finishing in fourth place with a 6–10 record on the six-team WSBL North ladder. The men meanwhile earned an 11–8 record to finish in third place on the seven-team MSBL North ladder. ^[13]

In conjunction with their fledgeling form on the court, Swan Districts Basketball Association was in financial difficulty with increasing debt to Basketball Western Australia—reportedly in excess of $40,000. ^[14] As a result, the association ceased operations following the 2003 season. ^[14]

Season-by-season results

Men's team Year Won Lost Pos Titles 1989 0 22 12th Wooden spoon 1990 23 3 1st Minor premiership 1991 22 4 1st Minor premiership MSBL Championship 1992 16 8 5th 1993 16 8 4th 1994 20 6 2nd MSBL Grand Finalist 1995 9 17 10th 1996 7 19 11th 1997 DNP 1998 DNP 1999 5 21 13th 2000 5 14 6th (West) 2001 2 24 14th Wooden spoon 2002 4 22 13th 2003 11 8 3rd (North)

Women's team Year Won Lost Pos Titles 1989 0 21 8th Wooden spoon 1990 1 20 8th Wooden spoon 1991 16 5 1st Minor premiership WSBL Championship 1992 18 2 1st Minor premiership WSBL Grand Finalist 1993 18 2 1st Minor premiership WSBL Championship 1994 16 4 1st Minor premiership 1995 18 6 2nd WSBL Grand Finalist 1996 21 3 1st Minor premiership WSBL Championship 1997 DNP 1998 DNP 1999 1 26 10th Wooden spoon 2000 0 20 11th Wooden spoon 2001 0 22 12th Wooden spoon 2002 0 22 12th Wooden spoon 2003 6 10 4th (North)

References

1. 1983 Fixtures District Competition. Western Australian Basketball Federation (Inc.). 1983. p. 15.
2. 1984 Fixtures District Competition. Western Australian Basketball Federation (Inc.). 1984. p. 17.
3. McDonald's State Basketball League Fixtures 1988. Western Australian Basketball Federation (Inc.). 1988. p. 38.
4. "SBL Standings 1989". CockburnCougars.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
5. "Mens Standings & Playoffs – 1989–1992". sblonline.net. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
6. "PAST CHAMPIONS". SBL.asn.au. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
7. Skywest Basketball League Year Book 2000. Basketball Western Australia. 2000. pp. 170–176.
8. Skywest Basketball League Year Book 2001. Basketball Western Australia. 2001. pp. 173–179.
9. State Basketball League Yearbook 2002. Basketball Western Australia. 2002. pp. 161–168.
10. 2003 SBL Guide. Basketball Western Australia. 2003. p. 59.
11. "Congratulations J Mo! – Joint Men's 2002 SBL MVP". SwansBasketball.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2002.
12. "Most Valuable Player". sblonline.net. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
13. 2004 SBL Guide. Basketball Western Australia. 2004. pp. 47–48.
14. "Eastern Suns History". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 16 October 2017.