Brisbane next stop for rebuilt NBL

The return of the Sydney Kings and the possible re-emergence of an NBL team from
Brisbane has Basketball Australia chief executive Larry Sengstock sensing a return
to the game's halcyon days.
While the Kings were front and centre at Monday's season launch, Brisbane, who were
last in the competition in 2008, were certainly in the rear view mirror.
"Now we've got some of these things in place, I think Brisbane is certainly
something we've got to focus on," Sengstock said.
"And we've always said that we want to have another team in Brisbane and we've made
some steps in the last few weeks, but there's still a fair bit of work to go there.
"I haven't got any announcements for you today but certainly I'd like to say
(Brisbane) is part of our plan moving forward).
"We want to have a team in every major market."
Success in the 2010/11 season is crucial in the long-term development of basketball
in Australia after the competition foundered in 2008, eventually being revamped
without iconic teams such as the Kings and Brisbane Bullets.
BA suffered further embarrassment when the 2008/09 champions, South Dragons, quit
the NBL.
Sengstock said the new season was a major step towards regaining the support it
enjoyed in the mid-1990s.
"I see it as a major step (towards the rebirth of basketball in Australia)," he said.
"(This season) is really important but we've also got to be aware that it's a
building process."
It's a far cry from the dire situation a year ago, when officials weren't sure if
the competition would even take place, such were the financial inadequacies across
the clubs.
"To be honest, I think it's pretty amazing how far it's come in just one year,"
Perth Wildcats skipper Damian Martin told AAP.
"This time last year I was looking around for another job, and now I'm jet-lagged
after flying back from the World Championships in Turkey.
"It's a pretty different position to be in."
At the launch the league announced it had secured two major sponsors: naming rights
partner, iiNet, and betting partner Centrebet.
The league will also enjoy two games a week on free-to-air television.
Sengstock said it had been essential to "get the house in order" at BA, paring back
the organisation's operations.
"With every business, where you've had some hard times and the economics of it are
causing you some grief, you've got to pull everything back to the bare bones," he
said.
"That's what we've really done with the teams in the last 12 months and that's why
having Sydney in, and the sponsorship on board and the free-to-air coverage ... you
can actually use that and move forward with it.
"It's a fantastic feeling, we were all reasonably confident that we had the product
we could build around, but I'm really proud that we've taken these steps and the
guys have all worked so hard to do it."
The new nine-team NBL season starts on Friday, October 15 with Wollongong playing
Gold Coast and Sydney taking on Melbourne on the opening night.
The following night sees Townsville play Cairns, Sydney back-up against New Zealand
and Perth play Adelaide on the Sunday afternoon.



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