The Launceston Casino City is a defunct
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n professional
basketball team that competed in the
National Basketball League (NBL). Formed in 1980, the club was based in
Launceston,
Tasmania. It lasted only three seasons before folding, but won the NBL Championship in 1981. The Launceston Casino City was last coached by Curtis Coleman.
History
The Launceston Casino City entered the NBL competition with a grant from the
Tasmanian Government and the support of the developers of the state's second casino.
[Basketball Australia]
'Back in the Day: Tin shed artists'
3 February 2012, retrieved 24 April 2012. Their highest profile player was 24-year-old
Ian Davies, who played for the Australian team at the
1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
__NOTOC__
Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...
and later at the
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In its first season the team finished ninth in the 12-team NBL competition, winning nine of its 22 games. Davies was named in the 1980
All NBL First Team.
In the
1981 NBL season
The 1981 NBL season was the third season of the National Basketball League (NBL).
Regular season
The regular season took place over 18 rounds between 14 February 1981 and 21 June 1981. Each team played 22 games, against every opponent twice.
...
Launceston Casino City improved to 14 wins and finished fourth in the regular season. In the first semi-final, which consisted of a single sudden-death game, the Launceston Casino City defeated the
Brisbane Bullets 71 to 69 points. They then met the
Nunawading Spectres in the Grand Final at
Apollo Stadium in
Adelaide, which they won 75 to 54 points to claim the NBL Championship.
In its third and final NBL season in 1982, the Launceston Casino City won 5 games and finished 12th.
Michael Parsons Michael Parsons may refer to:
*Michael Parsons (composer) (born 1938), British composer
*Michael Parsons (cricketer) (born 1984), English cricketer
*Michael Parsons (engineer) (1928–2021), designer of major suspension bridges
*Michael Parsons (A ...
, who went on to play in the
South Australian National Football League with the
North Adelaide Roosters and the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
with the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
, played for the team. Cliff Martin also played for the Casino City as an American import player.
The Launceston Casino City basketball team folded in 1983.
In 2009 it was reported that the championship cup and banner that was won by the team in 1981 was missing.
[Laura Oldfield,]
Hunt for Casino City's lost silverware
, ''The Examiner'', 22 May 2009, viewed 26 April 2012. The banner was found in a Hobart shed ten years later.
Honour roll
Season by season
References
External links
NBL official website
{{NBLdefunct
Basketball teams in Tasmania
Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams
Basketball teams established in 1980
Basketball teams disestablished in 1982
Sport in Launceston, Tasmania
1980 establishments in Australia