Gladstone Port City Power is a Queensland State League (QSL) basketball club based in

Gladstone, Queensland Gladstone () is a coastal city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Gladstone has an urban population of 34,703, and together with Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, had an estimated population of 50,317 at August 2021. This urban area co ...

. The club fields a team in both the Men's QSL and Women's QSL in the 2021 competition. The club is a division of Gladstone Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Power play their home games at Kev Broome Stadium.

Club history

The Power entered the Queensland Australian Basketball League (QABL) in 2004, fielding both a men's and women's team. They replaced the departing Tweed Coast Slammers in the Southern Cross Division. In 2009, the Power women had a massive year to become champions for the first time in club history. Some excellent recruiting and a lot of belief enabled the Power to defeat the South West Metro Pirates 102–98 in overtime in the grand final. It was a remarkable turnaround for the team, who won just a handful of matches in their two previous seasons. WNBL players

Jessica Bibby Jessica Bibby (born 23 August 1979) is an Australian sportswoman. She has played over 200 games in the WNBL and won several WNBL Championships. She has played for the Dandenong Rangers and Canberra Capitals. She was drafted by the WNBA's N ...

Natalie Hurst Natalie Hurst (born 8 April 1983) is an Australian basketball player. She played junior basketball in Canberra and went on to play for the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL. With the Capitals, she won league championships in 2001/2002, 2002/2003, ...

and Katie Rose and college player Diana Neves were the stars of the show. The women went on to claim three QBL championships in a row with titles also coming in 2010 and 2011. Player/coach Jessica Bibby was instrumental over those years, as was Natalie Hurst. They returned to the grand final once again in 2012, but their quest for a four-peat was denied by the Mackay Meteorettes, who defeated the Power 78–71. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, the Power men qualified for the finals for the first time in club history thanks to the efforts of import duo Justin Baker and Ray Willis, captain Michael Cedar, and head coach

Derek Rucker Derek Alan Rucker (born October 2, 1966) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who starred in the Australian National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League for 15 seasons. Playing career Prior to th ...

. Their 12–5 record saw them finish the regular season in fourth place. In their quarter-final match-up, they faced the defending champion

Rockhampton Rockets The Rockhampton Rockets are an Australian basketball team based in Rockhampton, Queensland. The Rockets compete in the Men's NBL1 North and play their home games at Adani Arena. The team is affiliated with Rockhampton Basketball Inc., the major ...

and beat them 94–86. The win advanced them through to the semi-finals, where they faced the Brisbane Capitals. The Power pushed the Capitals into overtime but were defeated in the dying seconds of the extra period, losing 78–77. The Power women, on the other hand, made their way back to the grand final for the first time since 2012. However, they were defeated 2–0 in the best-of-three series by the Rockhampton Cyclones. Following the 2019 QBL season, the league was rebranded as

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. The Power subsequently did not enter the new competition for the 2020 season. For the 2021 season, the Power will play in the Queensland State League competition.

References

External links

*{{facebook, portcitypower 2004 establishments in Australia Basketball teams established in 2004 Basketball teams in Queensland Gladstone, Queensland Queensland Basketball League teams