Excellent news. Anyone already put their hand up to play in the team or to coach?

A few players are being looked at I think.

the nucleas of the hunter Pirates... hinder helms melmeth etc been contacted,.

I'd like to see Helms in this league for a long while, he is so young and is one of the few players that can get hot and keep knocking down shot after shot.

Just a question that I can't find an answer for, but wouldn't a Singapore team have a large amount of 'imports' or is there a clause like the NZ players??

My understand is that anyone who plays in the NBL that isn't NZ or Australian is then considered an import.

(a) if they had 8 Australians on their team, they'd be fine. (b) the league could consider allowing Asian-born players as non-imports to foster growth in that area of the league.

Any Asian born player is not classed as an import from 06/07 season on.

rule was passed a few months back when the talk of the Chinese rep was part of our All Star game

Cheers Kent and Isaac, the Chinese rep player issue is now coming back to me along when the Tigers trialled that Asian player a few years ago.

I would think that with a population so big that smart NBL teams will be looking to develop a few asian scouts over the coming years if they don't already have some on the books. Wouldn't it be interesting if NBL get FTA through Asia before we get it in Australia?

janx that is most likely they will get us on free to air, i think the best thing right now for this new singapore team is to get a star asian player... period, while they will probably be successful there anyway (as wildcats proved NBL was successful there) they need to have a good mix of asians and aussies in that team.... it should be the first thing they do (after opfcourse getting melmeth, helms, davidson and hinder) why not take lui wei? he could play back up point.... im sure theres dozens of players playing in the China pro's or any asian pro's thatd love a shot, they know how good the league is and respect it.... i think there should definately be gun asians on the team so singapore will support it more.

"Asian born" could even then include players born in parts of Turkey. The scope for "asain born" could be a HUGE advantage for this new team.

First thing they should do is sign up Yuta Tabuse from Japan to run the point.

Quote from NBL website:

"The new team will operate under all existing NBL rules, including salary cap, player points and import restrictions."

Can anyone clarify if that includes players from Asia. For example can this new team have two american imports and some local players. or have two asian imports and local players, or will local singaporean players be classed as imports. If so I doubt you will see a true singaporean player out there.

Asian born" could even then include players born in parts of Turkey. The scope for "asain born" could be a HUGE advantage for this new team.

I'm sure any ruling of this kind would apply to ALL teams and thus not be a HUGE advantage - if they regard "Asian born" as non imports that would apply to ALL teams so no advantage for anyone really.

NBL places team in Singapore
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 04:24 PM
NBL

In the most significant move in its 28-year history, the National Basketball League announced that the Philips Championship would expand to include a team operating out of Singapore as of the 2006/07 season.

The new club based out of Singapore, whose team nickname will be unveiled at a later date, will take over the Hunter Pirates license after the NBL Board on Friday approved a request for its transfer from the Hunter Valley Pirates Sport group to Singapore Basketball Enterprises Pte Ltd (SBE).

The addition of the new team will now see Philips Championship games played regularly in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The move sees the NBL become the first Australian-based professional sports league to include a team in Asia and the new club will be the only professional basketball team in Singapore.

"This is a truly historic day for the NBL and the Philips Championship," said NBL Commissioner Rick Burton. "For three long years we have been putting in place the necessary preparation and planning to successful seed a team in Asia. I am ecstatic this hard work has come to fruition and we can now take the NBL into a new era where it plays across three countries."

"Asia is the future for world sport and we are proud to be the first major pro sports league to set up operations in the thriving and cosmopolitan market that is Singapore."

"This historic move would not have been possible without the vision of the NBL Board, FIBA, Basketball Australia and the Basketball Association of Singapore and I would like to thank them for their unilateral support of this giant leap forward for our sport."

The ownership group is headed by NBL Hall of Famer Bob Turner, who has been working for some time on the project to find the right partners and brings intimate knowledge of the NBL to the new team.

"The establishment of an NBL team in Singapore is great for the NBL, the city of Singapore and the sport of basketball," said Turner. "The consortium has put considerable time and effort into establishing a sound relationship with the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and the 12,000-seat Singapore Indoor Stadium, home of the new team. The group is proud to play its part in such an historic occasion for both Australian and Singaporean sport".

SSC Chief Executive Officer Oon Jin Teik said securing a team was a major boost for Singaporean sport.

"Today's announcement is yet another significant step in our push to bring basketball fever to the masses in Singapore," Oon Jin Teik said. "For a little more than the price of a movie ticket, Singaporeans will not only be able to catch live world-class basketball action right on home soil, but be able to participate in a whole new form of sports entertainment that is wholesome and exciting, much like what we see today on TV at NBA basketball matches. In time to come, we hope this event will become another key marquee event in Singapore's ever growing and vibrant sports calendar."

In order to clear the way for the ground-breaking inclusion of an Asian team in the NBL, Basketball Australia (BA) assisted the League in petitioning FIBA Oceania, FIBA Asia and the FIBA international office.

FIBA Oceania Secretary General Steve Smith said the addition of a team in Singapore was truly significant.

"There is no doubt that the inclusion of a team in Singapore within the Philips Championship NBL is an historic move for basketball in the region," said Smith. "FIBA Asia and FIBA International have shown great foresight in backing this move and continuing to grow our great game."

Basketball Australia Chief Executive Scott Derwin said the move would help grow basketball in Australia.

"Basketball Australia wholeheartedly endorses the move to place a team in Singapore and we believe taking a club into Asia will only serve to help grow our sport locally," said Derwin. "This is a bold move that puts basketball ahead of all other professional sports in Australia."

Wee Siew Kim, President of the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) said the move was a boon for local Singaporean basketball.

"The basketball community is very excited with this new initiative," Wee Siew Kim said. "It complements BAS' ongoing programmes to make basketball the 'Team Sport of Choice' in Singapore. To achieve this goal, all three areas of sports excellence, participation and industry must develop in tandem as each feeds on the other. Given the combined marketing and promotional strengths of the NBL and SSC, as well as the proven sports management track record of the people behind SBE, and the high entertainment value of top-level basketball worldwide, we firmly believe that this event will appeal to a mass Singaporean audience."

"The three similar successful basketball events held for the first time in Singapore in 2005  the NBL matches between Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats and the Wildcats and Brisbane Bullets as well as the inaugural Singapore Cup  demonstrated to us that there is keen interest amongst Singaporeans that will fuel the growth of a vibrant basketball sports industry. With the right marketing and positioning, basketball can generate fantastic revenues for teams, players and sponsors."

The new team will operate under all existing NBL rules, including salary cap, player points and import restrictions.

The NBL has previously held two regular season games in Singapore and the Sydney Kings represented the Philips Championship in the inaugural Singapore Cup in 2005.

The 2006/07 Philips Championship season will open in September 2006.






Grand Final

Kings 93 v Tigers 100
Box Scores | Match Report

Tigers 103 v Kings 99
Box Scores | Match Report

Kings 83 v Tigers 88
Box Scores | Match Report



GRAND FINAL DETAILS

PREVIOUS ROUND

FULL SCHEDULE


P W L
Kings 32 26 6
Tigers 32 25 7
Hawks 32 19 13
36ers 32 19 13
Taipans 32 18 14
Bullets 32 17 15
Wildcats 32 16 16
Pirates 32 13 19
Breakers 32 9 23
Crocodiles 32 9 23
Razorbacks 32 5 27



FULL LADDER

FULL SCHEDULE

THE PLAYOFFS

NBL expands into Singapore
Australia's National Basketball League has announced it will expand into Asia next season with a new club to be based in Singapore.

The new club will take over the license held by the now defunct Hunter Pirates and will be owned by a consortium called Singapore Basketball Enterprises - headed by NBL Hall of Fame coach Bob Turner.

Turner said the team will bring something different to the league after the Pirates folded due to debts of almost $1 million.

"I've seen teams in Geelong and the Gold Coast come and go and to add another team in Australia is a little bit of a blink," he said.

"To put a team in Singapore is an unbelievable eye-opener."

Some of the players who were with the Pirates are expected to move to Singapore, and the team will be ready to start playing once the new season starts in September.

The team's nickname and uniform will be revealed in the next few weeks.

NBL Commissioner Rick Burton said it was the most significant announcement in the 28-year history of the league.

"I think that's safe to say and it's really a major global announcement," he said.

"Because I think we're really the first sports league to place a team from Asia from outside of Asia and I think that opens up a number of doors for us in terms of sponsorship and TV rights.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see other codes possibly consider it themselves as they go along."

But Turner was reluctant to say it would be the saviour of the NBL, which has suffered a dramatic decline in popularity since its heyday in the nineties.

"I don't think it's the saviour," he said.

"I think what it is is a continuing building block to go with a number of other things: greater TV presence, Andrew Bogut getting signed as the number one draft choice in the NBA, the men - the Boomers - possibly winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

"All of these things I think are going to continue to add to basketball's viability."

So, what's Tracy York's role in this? Is she involved in any way?

With Singapore having just been granted a the new defunct Hunter Pirates NBL licence to enter a NBL club could spell very good news for the NBL future as well as very bad news for struggling clubs, and that included out own Adelaide 36ers. If the venture into Singapore goes well I can see the NBL strategic plan will move from being a national basketball competition to a Asian super league like the rugby union Super 14 competition.

The Adelaide 36ers should get there backyard in order real quick so they don't get left behind, it would be a complete travesty if a national league basketball side was not played in SA.



Asian influx likely (the Advertiser 15/3/06)

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