Hawke's Bay Hawks
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| League | National Basketball League | ||
| History |
Napier Sunhawks 1982–1985 Hawke's Bay Hawks 1986–present |
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| Arena | Pettigrew Green Arena | ||
| Location |
Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand |
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| Team colours | Black, grey, orange | ||
| Main sponsor | Taylor Corporation | ||
| President | Keith Price | ||
| General manager | Kevin Wagg | ||
| Head coach | Ben Hill | ||
| Championships | 1 (2006) | ||
| Website | Hawks.org.nz | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks.
After winning the Conference Basketball League (CBL) Invitational championship in 1982, the Napier Sunhawks were promoted to the National Basketball League for the 1983 season. They managed to make the playoffs in their first NBL season, but finished second last in 1984, and last in 1985. The team was renamed the Hawke's Bay Hawks for the 1986 season but continued to struggle in the years to come, as they had trouble attracting star players and quality imports, mainly because of the appeal of the city-based sides such as Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington. They did manage to recruit Jamie Dixon as an overseas player in the late 1980s.
After not qualifying for a playoff spot since their debut season in 1983, the Hawks broke their hoodoo in 1993 as they made the semi-finals and received all-round praise from those who had been suggesting in previous years they should be removed from the competition. The following season, the Hawks continued their good form, finishing third for the second straight year. It was then in 1995 that the Hawks got their first taste of the NBL finals before losing to the dominant Auckland Rebels. It was a huge transformation from a team struggling to keep their place in the league to a team who were genuine title contenders. Over the next two years under coach Keith Mair, the Hawks continued their playoff streak but lost comprehensively both times.
The Hawks began a slow decline from the heights of the previous five years in 1998, as the side finished in second-last. This finish demoted them to the CBL, where they spent the 1999 season. However, after finishing as CBL runners-up in 1999, they were readmitted to the NBL in 2000, but finished last again. In the early 2000s, the league was dominated by Pero Cameron's Waikato Titans and the Hawks finished second last in both 2001 and 2002, forcing the team to rethink and retool. They fared a little better in 2003, finishing sixth with an 8–10 record.
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