Bankstown Bruins
Bankstown Bruins is a member club of the Waratah League based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.
| Bankstown Bruins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | Waratah League |
| Founded | 1979 |
| History | NBL: Bankstown Bruins 1979–1985 West Sydney Westars 1986–1987 Waratah League: Bankstown Bruins 1991–present |
| Arena | Bankstown Basketball Stadium |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Team colors | Navy blue, white, red |
| General manager | Christian Gobolos |
| Championships | 4 (1993, 1996, 1997, 2016) (M) 10 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015) (W) |
| Website | BankstownBasketball.com.au |
Club history
Background
In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL) for the league's inaugural season. In 1983, Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of the NBL Coach of the Year Award after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in 1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. After seven disappointing seasons as the Bruins, the team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the 1986 NBL season. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the 1987 season, the Westars merged with the Sydney Supersonics to become the Sydney Kings.[1]
Waratah League
In 1991, a reinvigorated Bankstown Bruins club joined the Waratah League (then known as the NSW Premier Division) for the league's inaugural season, with a team entered into both the men's and women's competition. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women on the other hand put together a championship three-peat between 1997 and 1999.[2]
With the NSW premier basketball league entering the Australian Basketball Association in 2001, the league became known as the Waratah League. Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning seven championships between 2003 and 2015,[2] while the men collected their fourth title in 2016.[3]
Season by season
| Season | Division | League | Regular season | Post-season | Head Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | |||||
| Bankstown Bruins | |||||||||
| 1979 | 1 | NBL | 9th | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | Did Not Qualify | Shaun O'Connell |
| 1980 | 1 | NBL | 12th | 22 | 3 | 19 | .136 | Did Not Qualify | Steve Fairnham Shaun O'Connell |
| 1981 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 22 | 7 | 15 | .318 | Did Not Qualify | Steve Fairnham |
| 1982 | 1 | NBL | 14th | 26 | 2 | 24 | .077 | Did Not Qualify | Robbie Cadee |
| 1983 | 1 | NBL | 5th | 22 | 12 | 10 | .545 | Did Not Qualify | Robbie Cadee |
| 1984 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 24 | 10 | 14 | .417 | Did Not Qualify | Robbie Cadee |
| 1985 | 1 | NBL | 12th | 26 | 6 | 20 | .231 | Did Not Qualify | Robbie Cadee Claude Williams |
| West Sydney Westars | |||||||||
| 1986 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 | Lost in Elimination-Finals to Illawarra Hawks, 105–86 | Robbie Cadee |
| 1987 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 26 | 8 | 18 | .308 | Did Not Qualify | Mike Osbourne |
| Regular season record | 212 | 66 | 146 | .311 | |||||
| Playoff record | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||||
As of the end of the 1987 season
*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.
Source: West Sydney Westars Year by Year