The Christchurch Cougars were a New Zealand

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. The Cougars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Cowles Stadium. The Cougars pulled out of the NBL in 2011 after just two seasons following the

Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

Team history

In December 2008, in the wake of the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

withdrawing from the NBL, the Christchurch Cougars were established by Christchurch basketball couple Amy and Andrew Gardiner. Andrew Gardiner, a former Tall Black and long-serving national league player who finished his career with Canterbury, was immediately named the Cougars' head coach. The team recruited well with guards Paul Henare and Paora Winitana, and imports

Tim Behrendorff Timothy Behrendorff (born 26 September 1981) is an Australian professional basketball player. Behrendorff attended college at Gardner–Webb University in the United States from 2000 to 2004. In the 2004–05 NBL season, he represented the Cai ...

and Trenton Wurtz. In their inaugural season, the Cougars finished fourth with a 10–6 record. After winning their quarter-final match-up against the

Harbour Heat The Harbour Heat were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Heat competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at North Shore Events Centre. Team history The Harbour Heat, then known as North Shore, ...

, they were defeated in the semi-finals by the

Waikato Pistons The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School. After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Pist ...

. While Henare was the assist champion in 2009, Behrendorff was named to the All-Star Five. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, the Cougars brought back

Jeremy Kench Jeremy Brian Kench (born 27 April 1984) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). Playing career Kench attended former powerhouse Christchurch basketbal ...

to Christchurch and picked up

Aidan Daly Aidan Craig Daly (born 22 August 1978) is a New Zealand former basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL), including 12 with the Hawke's Bay Hawks. High school Daly attended Napier Boys' High School and N ...

, but they failed to make the playoffs as they finished seventh with a 9–9 record. Following the 2010 season, the Cougars ran into financial issues. In January 2011, the team was kicked out of Cowles Stadium due to unpaid debt to the city council. The Gardiners intended to move their team to a new stadium just being finished in

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on the outskirts of the city. However, following the

, the Cougars were forced to withdraw from the NBL in March 2011. Last-gasp meetings by Amy and Andrew Gardiner attempted to stitch together a rescue package to save the Cougars, but ultimately the level of financial risk was too great. In April 2013, the Cougars were rumoured to be ready to re-enter the NBL within two years. This did not eventuate, and in November 2013, the Canterbury Rams were granted re-entry into the league thanks to the efforts of Christchurch businessman Andrew Harrison.

References

{{National Basketball League (New Zealand) Basketball teams in New Zealand National Basketball League (New Zealand) teams Sport in Christchurch Basketball teams established in 2008 2008 establishments in New Zealand 2011 disestablishments in New Zealand Basketball teams disestablished in 2011