Launceston Casino City is a defunct Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). Formed in 1980, the club was based in Launceston, Tasmania. It lasted only three seasons before folding, but won the NBL championship in 1981.
| Launceston Casino City | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Tigers |
| Leagues | NBL |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Dissolved | 1982 |
| History | Launceston Casino City 1980–1982 |
| Arena | Dowling Street Stadium |
| Location | Launceston, Tasmania |
| Team colors | Yellow, red, dark green |
| Championships | 1 (1981) |
History
editLaunceston Casino City entered the NBL in the 1980 season with a grant from the Tasmanian Government and the support of the developers of the state's second casino.[1] Their inaugural team included Olympian Ian Davies[1] and club president was Gary Carr.[2] In its first season, the team finished ninth in the 12-team competition with nine wins.
In the 1981 NBL season, the team improved to 14 wins and finished second in the regular season. The top-seeded St. Kilda Saints decided to forgo the NBL finals to compete in the 1981 FIBA Club World Cup. This meant the Saints' finals spot went to the fifth-placed Brisbane Bullets, and Launceston entered the post-season as the competition's top seed.[3] In the semi-final, Launceston defeated the Bullets 71–69. They then met the Nunawading Spectres in the grand final at Apollo Stadium in Adelaide, where they won 75–54 to claim the NBL championship.[4]
In its third and final NBL season in 1982, the team won five games and finished 12th. The team was coached by Curtis Coleman. During the season, the club directors decided on a majority vote to replace Coleman with Max Pike, who helped Jim Ericksen coach the team previously. The players however would not agree to the change and would only play under Coleman.[5]
In 2009, a public plea was made by the Northern Tasmanian Basketball Association to help locate Launceston Casino City's lost premiership silverware including the championship cup and banner.[6] The banner was found in a Hobart shed in 2019[7] and was later unveiled at the Silverdome by the Tasmania JackJumpers in 2023.[8]
Honour roll
edit| NBL Championships: | 1 (1981) |
| NBL Finals Appearances: | 1 (1981) |
| NBL Grand Final Appearances: | 1 (1981) |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | None |
| NBL Grand Final MVPs: | None |
| All-NBL First Team: | Ian Davies (1980) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | None |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | None |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | None |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | None |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | None |
Season by season
edit| NBL champions | League champions | Runners-up | Finals berth |
| Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Post-season | Head coach | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | ||||||
| Launceston Casino City | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 22 | 9 | 13 | .409 | Did not qualify | Rex Johnstone Phil Thomas | |
| 1981 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 22 | 14 | 8 | .636 | Won semifinal (Brisbane) 71–69 Won NBL final (Nunawading) 75–54 |
Jim Ericksen | |
| 1982 | 1 | NBL | 13th | 26 | 5 | 21 | .192 | Did not qualify | Curtis Coleman | |
| Regular season record | 70 | 28 | 42 | .400 | 0 regular season champions | |||||
| Finals record | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 NBL championships | |||||
As of the end of the 1982 season
References
edit- ^ a b "Back in the Day: Tin shed artists". Basketball Australia. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Edwards, Phil (8 November 2013). "Tasmania loses basketball legend". The Examiner. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Flashback: Paying homage to Tasmania's first NBL title". NBL Official Website. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ Woods, Dan (31 March 2024). "Remember When: Launceston won Tassie's first title". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024.
- ^ "FLASHBACK 48: March 29, 1982". BotiNagy.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Hunt for Casino City's lost silverware". The Examiner. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ Mathieson, Andrew (4 September 2019). "Unfurling the Past: A lost tale of a former NBL club". The Examiner. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Tuxworth, Jon (18 January 2023). "Launceston Casino City's long lost NBL championship flag to finally be unveiled". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2023.