Premier League (Australia)
Current season, competition or edition: 2016 Premier League (Australia)
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| Formerly |
BankSA League Central ABL |
|---|---|
| Sport | Basketball |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Inaugural season | 1957 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) |
M: Southern Tigers (6th title) W: Norwood Flames (8th title) |
| Most titles |
M: West Adelaide Bearcats (14 titles) W: North Adelaide Rockets (20 titles) |
| Official website | Premier League |
The Premier League (formerly known as the BankSA League and the Central Australian Basketball League) is a semi-professional basketball league in South Australia, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. Formerly a conference of the Australian Basketball Association (ABA), the league is used as a development league for the Adelaide teams competing in the NBL and WNBL.
The South Australian Metropolitan Basketball Association was founded in 1936. All games were played at Duncan Buildings, Franklin Street, Adelaide with 16 teams competing. After World War II, basketball resumed at the Our Boys Institute in the city, and suburban drill halls, with 27 teams. In 1946, the first Australian Basketball Championship was held in Sydney. The Men's Championship was held 36 times with the last series held in 1984. South Australia won 14 titles and finished second another 13 times. The Men's Championship was discontinued in the 1980s because of the rise of the National Basketball League. The respective Women's Championship was first held in 1955 in Melbourne, and was held 29 times until it too was discontinued in 1984. South Australia won the title 14 times and finished second another 11 times.
In 1951, the District Association was formed and in 1953 the Forestville Stadium, with one court, was built. At the time, the Stadium was the first of its kind in Australia. By 1954, there were 57 teams competing in all grades in the District Association. In 1956, a second court was built at Forestville and in 1958, a third.
In 1957, the Basketball Association of South Australia (BASA) held its first official State League season, with North Adelaide (later known as the Rockets) taking out both the men's and women's championships.
As the Association grew, a landmark in Australian and South Australian basketball came about in 1969 when the Apollo Entertainment Centre was built. It had one court and the capacity to seat 3,000 people, and became the home for basketball in South Australia, providing offices for the administration of the BASA. It was a beginning for many more buildings to come until the major boom for basketball occurred in the 1980s with the formation of the National Basketball League in 1979.
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