NBL1 East Team Introduction – Canberra Gunners/Nationals
RECENTLY, the National Basketball League (NBL)1 announced the introduction of a league based on the eastern seaboard, as they expanded their work across Australia. With the Australian basketball system producing more talent than ever, it was a justified move, as the eastern league joins the NBL1 North, NBL1 South, NBL1 Central and NBL1 West as the competitions spread out across Australia.
The league will be made up of 12 teams from the eastern shores of Australia, with many coming from the Waratah 1 competition. The NBL1 has shown this competition allows teams to take their respective games to the next level, and the teams entering NBL1 East will be looking to do the same. In this series, we introduce you to the 12 sides who will be taking the court in the league’s inaugural season in 2022. Next up on the agenda is the Canberra Gunners/Nationals.
This team is the league’s only side based in the Australian Capital Territory, with Canberra now host to multiple sporting teams and events. Unlike the remainder of the leagues in the competition, their strongest affiliate lies with Basketball ACT, which helps build the culture within the state.
Canberra were formed in 1988 as the first professional basketball team to come out of the city, as their men’s side joined the SEABL, much to the excitement of fans in Australia’s capital city. The team struggled to find success throughout their first years, and this carried throughout the 90’s.
The side’s first taste of success came in 2003, where the side was led by head coach and former player Brad Barnes to their first SEABL conference title, as they were the strongest side of the East. The team could not convert this impressive form into a SEABL championship, and have suffered a tough journey since. This remains their only title in the club’s history, and the Gunners will be hoping for a change of fortunes in the new NBL1 East competition.
The club also entered a women’s side, the Canberra Nationals, in the NBL1 East, and will be hoping to make their mark early.
With the two sides the only professional sides remaining in Australia’s capital, the Gunners and the Nationals will be looking to make proud the fans who have yearned for success for decades.
Photo: Basketball ACT
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