Bankstown Bruins is a

NBL1 East The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National ...

club based in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.

Club history

Background

In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL) for the league's inaugural season. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of the

NBL Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball League Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1980 NBL season to the best head coach of the regular season. At the season's end, each club's Head Coach, one Assistant Coach ...

after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in 1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. After seven disappointing seasons as the Bruins, the team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the

1986 NBL season The 1986 NBL season was the eighth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Clubs The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Norther ...

. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the 1987 season, the Westars merged with the Sydney Supersonics to become the Sydney Kings.

Waratah League / NBL1 East

In 1991, a reinvigorated Bankstown Bruins club joined the Waratah League (then known as the NSW Premier Division) for the league's inaugural season, with a team entered into both the men's and women's competition. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women on the other hand put together a championship three-peat between 1997 and 1999.History – Waratah Basketball League
/ref> With the NSW premier basketball league entering the

Australian Basketball Association The Australian Basketball Association (ABA) was a semi-professional basketball entity based in Australia. The ABA was Australia's biggest basketball competition for many years. With over 120 teams participating across five leagues and six states ...

in 2001, the league became known as the Waratah League. Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning seven championships between 2003 and 2015, while the men collected their fourth title in 2016. The Waratah League was rebranded as

for the 2022 season. The women's team did not enter the 2022 NBL1 East season.

Season by season

References

External links

BBA's official website
{{NBLdefunct Waratah League teams Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams Basketball teams established in 1979 1979 establishments in Australia Sports teams in Sydney Basketball teams in New South Wales Bankstown, New South Wales