2008–09 NBL season
Professional basketball season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2008–09 NBL season was the 31st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 10 teams contested the league.
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| 2008–09 NBL season | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
| League | National Basketball League | |||||||||
| Season | 2008–09 | |||||||||
| Dates | 13 September 2008 – 13 March 2009 | |||||||||
| Teams | 10 | |||||||||
| TV partners | Australia: New Zealand: | |||||||||
| Regular season | ||||||||||
| Season champions | South Dragons | |||||||||
| Season MVP |  Kirk Penney (New Zealand) | |||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||
| Champions | South Dragons (1st title) | |||||||||
| Runners-up | Melbourne Tigers | |||||||||
| Semi-finalists | New Zealand Breakers Townsville Crocodiles | |||||||||
| Finals MVP |  Donta Smith (South) | |||||||||
| Statistical leaders | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
2008–09 league participants
| Team | Region | CEO | Coach | Home ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | SA | Mal Hemmerling | Scott Ninnis | Distinctive Homes Dome | 8,000 |
| Cairns Taipans | QLD | Denis Keeffe | Mark Beecroft | Cairns Convention Centre | 5,300 |
| Gold Coast Blaze | QLD | David Claxton | Brendan Joyce | Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre | 5,269 |
| Melbourne Tigers | VIC | Seamus McPeake | Alan Westover | State Netball Centre | 3,500 |
| New Zealand Breakers | NZL | Richard Clarke | Andrej Lemanis | North Shore Events Centre | 4,400 |
| Perth Wildcats | WA | Nick Marvin | Conner Henry | Challenge Stadium | 4,500 |
| South Dragons | VIC | Ryan Gardiner | Brian Goorjian | Hisense Arena | 10,500 |
| Sydney Spirit[1] | NSW | Steve Aquilina[2] | Rob Beveridge | State Sports Centre | 5,006 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | QLD | Ian Smythe | Trevor Gleeson | Townsville Entertainment Centre | 5,257 |
| Wollongong Hawks | NSW | TBD | Eric Cooks | WIN Entertainment Centre | 6,000 |
- On 30 June 2008 the Brisbane Bullets confirmed they would be handing back the team's license to the NBL. The NBL confirmed there will be no Brisbane team participating in the 2008/09 season.[3]
- On 2 July 2008 the NBL announced that two bids for the Sydney Kings license had failed and that there would be no second Sydney team in the 2008/09 season.[4]
- On 29 July 2008 the Singapore Slingers announced that they had decided to withdraw from the competition permanently due to the dramatic increase in international travel costs.[5]
Sponsors
| Team | Major sponsor |
|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | Sprint Auto Parts |
| Cairns Taipans | Skytrans Airlines |
| Gold Coast Blaze | QDeck |
| Melbourne Tigers | OAMPS Insurance Brokers |
| New Zealand Breakers | Bartercard |
| Perth Wildcats | Saville Australia |
| South Dragons | Crazy John's |
| Townsville Crocodiles | McDonald's |
| West Sydney Razorbacks | Westbus |
| Wollongong Hawks | Australian Health Management[6] |
Apparel
| Team | Provider | Home colour | Away colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | Adidas | Blue | Yellow |
| Cairns Taipans | Kombat | Orange | White |
| Gold Coast Blaze | G2 Game Gear[7] | Sky Blue | White |
| Melbourne Tigers | Kombat | Red | Yellow |
| New Zealand Breakers | SAS Sports | Black | White |
| Perth Wildcats | Hoop 2 Hoop | Red | White |
| South Dragons | Kombat | Black | White |
| Townsville Crocodiles | Kombat | Green | White |
| Sydney Spirit | Blades | Blue | White |
| Wollongong Hawks | G2 Game Gear | Red | White |
Regular season
The 2008-09 regular season took place over 22 rounds between 13 September 2008 and 14 February 2009.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Ladder
| Pos | 2008–09 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | South Dragons | 30 | 22 | 8 | 73.33% | 4–1 | W2 | 13–2 | 9–6 | 2968 | 2692 | 110.25% |
| 2 | Melbourne Tigers | 30 | 20 | 10 | 66.67% | 3–2 | L1 | 11–4 | 9–6 | 3030 | 2846 | 106.47% |
| 3 | New Zealand Breakers | 30 | 18 | 12 | 60.00% | 2–3 | W2 | 10–5 | 8–7 | 3087 | 2910 | 106.08% |
| 4 | Perth Wildcats1 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 56.67% | 4–1 | W2 | 11–4 | 6–9 | 2880 | 2822 | 102.06% |
| 5 | Townsville Crocodiles1 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 56.67% | 4–1 | L1 | 12–3 | 5–10 | 2956 | 2978 | 99.26% |
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers | 30 | 15 | 15 | 50.00% | 3–2 | L1 | 12–3 | 3–12 | 2956 | 2929 | 100.92% |
| 7 | Wollongong Hawks2 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 36.67% | 2–3 | L1 | 9–6 | 2–13 | 2924 | 3077 | 95.03% |
| 8 | Sydney Spirit2 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 36.67% | 0–5 | L8 | 9–6 | 2–13 | 2823 | 2987 | 94.51% |
| 9 | Cairns Taipans2 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 36.67% | 1–4 | L3 | 5–10 | 6–9 | 2589 | 2767 | 93.57% |
| 10 | Gold Coast Blaze | 30 | 8 | 22 | 26.67% | 3–2 | W3 | 6–9 | 2–13 | 2927 | 3132 | 93.45% |
Updated to match(es) played on 14 February 2009. Source: NBL.com.au
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.
1Perth Wildcats won Head-to-Head (3-1).
23-way Head-to-Head between Wollongong Hawks (5-2), Sydney Spirit (3-4) and Cairns Taipans (2-4).
Finals
Playoff bracket
| Elimination Finals | Semifinals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | South Dragons | 94 | 77 | 101 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Perth Wildcats | 96 | 5 | Townsville Crocodiles | 81 | 82 | 78 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Townsville Crocodiles | 103 | 1 | South Dragons | 93 | 83 | 84 | 95 | 102 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Melbourne Tigers | 81 | 88 | 67 | 108 | 81 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Melbourne Tigers | 117 | 103 | X | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New Zealand Breakers | 131 | 3 | New Zealand Breakers | 99 | 97 | X | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers | 101 | ||||||||||||||||||
Elimination Finals
Semi-finals
Grand Final
Player of the Week
Player of the Month
| Month | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| September/October | Kirk Penney | New Zealand Breakers |
| November | Kirk Penney | New Zealand Breakers |
| December | Julius Hodge | Adelaide 36ers |
| January/February | Luke Schenscher | Adelaide 36ers |
Coach of the Month
| Month | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| September/October | Brian Goorjian | South Dragons |
| November | Andrej Lemanis | New Zealand Breakers |
| December | Scott Ninnis | Adelaide 36ers |
| January/February | Al Westover | Melbourne Tigers |
NBL awards
- Most Valuable Player: Kirk Penney, New Zealand Breakers
- Rookie of the Year: Aaron Bruce, Adelaide 36ers
- Best Defensive Player: Adam Gibson, South Dragons
- Best Sixth Man: Phill Jones, New Zealand Breakers
- Most Improved Player: Matthew Knight, Sydney Spirit
- Coach of the Year: Brian Goorjian, South Dragons
- Finals MVP: Donta Smith, South Dragons
- All-NBL First Team:
- All-NBL Second Team:
- All-NBL Third Team:
Television coverage
Radio coverage
| Team | Station |
|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | 891 ABC Adelaide |
| Cairns Taipans | 4CA FM |
| Melbourne Tigers | Tiger Radio |
| New Zealand Breakers | Radio Sport |
| Perth Wildcats | SportFM |
| South Dragons | Dragons Radio |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 4TO FM |