Willetton Tigers
| Willetton Tigers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | State Basketball League |
| Founded | 1989 |
| History |
Willetton Tigers 1989–present |
| Arena | Willetton Basketball Stadium |
| Location | Willetton, Western Australia |
| Team colors | Navy blue & white |
| Main sponsor | Goodlife Homes |
| President | Phil Nixon |
| Head coach |
M: Stephen Black W: Simon Parker |
| Team captain |
M: Kyle Armour W: Kate Malpass |
| Championships |
1 (2010) (M) 8 (1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016) (W) |
| Website | WillettonTigers.com.au |
The Willetton Tigers are a basketball club from Perth, Western Australia competing in the semi-professional State Basketball League (SBL). The Tigers are a division of Willetton Basketball Association, the major administrative basketball organisation in the Melville/Canning region. For sponsorship reasons, the club is known as the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers.
History
Early years
Willetton Basketball Association (WBA) was formed in 1973 as a division of the Willetton Sports Club (WSC), with teams representing the club competing in the Canning Districts Basketball Association competitions in Riverton at the Bill Cole Centre (now the site of the Riverton Leisureplex). In 1978/79, following strong growth in numbers for basketball, the council built four asphalt courts at the Burrendah / Willetton Reserve. With the new venue, Willetton basketball teams relocated from Canning Districts Basketball Association to form its own domestic competition as the Willetton Basketball Division of WSC.[1][2][3]
In 1979/80, following many discussions, Tangney Districts Basketball Association was formed by amalgamating Melville Districts Basketball Association and Willetton Basketball Division of WSC. This was done in order to strengthen the Melville Districts Association whilst enabling Willetton players to compete at the elite level.[1]
Following further growth in numbers, the Willetton Basketball Stadium was expanded to eight outside courts including fencing and lighting, entirely financed by the Willetton Basketball Division of WSC. In 1985, four indoor courts were constructed on the site.[1]
In 1988, Willetton Basketball Association was formed in place of Tangney Districts Basketball Association, taking on Tangney's nickname of the Tigers. The previous year, the Tangney Tigers won the A-Grade District Competition championship. Early legends of the Tangney Tigers senior men's team included Brad Gray (1982 MVP) and Jeff Anderson (1984 MVP), while for the women, Kerry Clarke won District Comp MVP honours in 1981.[1]
SBL
In 1989, the Tigers were a foundation club for the State Basketball League's inaugural season, entering teams for both the men's and women's competitions.[4] Jeff Anderson continued on with the Tigers for their move to the SBL, earning co-MVP honours alongside Pete Hansen of the Perry Lakes Hawks in 1989, before winning the award outright in 1990. Anderson played in 174 SBL games for the Willetton Tigers between 1989 and 1995, averaging 25.2 points per game.[5] Upon retiring from playing basketball, he took on the head coaching role for the Tigers men in 1996, winning Coach of the Year honours in his first season. Despite Anderson's individual success, he was unable to lead the Tigers to a maiden SBL championship during his time at the club.
While the men were unable to taste success, the Lady Tigers quickly became the dominant force in the women's competition, reaching four straight Grand Finals and winning two SBL championships between 1996 and 1999. During this time, the team was led by future Australian Opal and WNBL star Rohanee Cox. The Lady Tigers had another dominant run beginning in the mid-2000s, playing in six of the eight Grand Finals between 2004 and 2011, and winning championships in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011.[1]
In 2010, the men finally broke the team's championship hoodoo thanks to a Grand Final MVP performance by Cameron Tovey. The team had fallen short in 2002 and 2008, reaching the grand final both years, so with their 2010 title, they completed a double club championship season alongside the women.[6]
In 2015, the Lady Tigers made it back to the Grand Final for the first time since 2011 (their 11th since 1996), but despite being led by Perth Lynx centre Louella Tomlinson, they were outclassed by Sami Whitcomb and the Rockingham Flames, losing 68–63.[7] The women redeemed themselves the following year, as they made it back to the Grand Final and defeated the Joondalup Wolves 60–58 to claim their eighth championship behind an MVP performance from Kate Malpass (28 points, eight rebounds).[8][9]
Current roster
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References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Willetton Basketball Association – About Us" (PDF). WillettonTigers.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Willetton Basketball Association Facility Expansion Feasibility Study". SportingPulse.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "The Willetton Basketball Association Sponsorship Proposal 2008". SportingPulse.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "SBL Standings 1989". CockburnCougars.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "SKYWEST BASKETBALL LEAGUE: MEN – All time Players". BasketballWA.asn.au. Archived from the original on July 18, 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ Kagi, Jacob (23 August 2010). "Willetton Tigers clinch SBL double". SMH.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (28 August 2015). "Inspired Whitcomb leads Flames to back-to-back women's SBL titles". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Wolves vs Tigers". FIBALiveStats.com. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (2 September 2016). "Malpass the hero as Tigers win Women's SBL Grand Final". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.