National Basketball League planning to expand to include team based on Gold Coast playing games in China

THE Gold Coast could boast a regular National Basketball League presence as soon as next year, with the league planning to expand to include a team with major links to China.

The outfit would play several home games on the Coast, as well as in China and possibly other Asian cities.

While it would be an Australian team, the new entity would include several Chinese players as roster imports, creating a pathway for Asian players looking to make the step up from their domestic competition.

Opportunities for corporate backing and broadcast of the NBL into China also make the “hybrid” team an attractive option.

NBL majority owner and executive director Larry Kestelman, who was on the Gold Coast for the Brisbane Bullets’ match against China on Tuesday night, said the 3500 people that turned up to Carrara showed there was an appetite for elite basketball in the city.

Having the Bullets play more games on the Coast — as they will in an NBL fixture against Melbourne United in October — is a first step that could lead to a team based on the Coast, possibly as early as the 2018-19 season.

“We definitely have a vision for the fact that there’s a demand for basketball on the Gold Coast,” Kestelman said of the void that has existed in the city since the demise of the Blaze in 2012.

“The participation and numbers are very encouraging. People love it, they play it, kids love it, the numbers are absolutely there.

“What we want to do is for starters, is have the Brisbane Bullets come back and play some games and as long as we see the growth — and (Tuesday’s game against China) was a great indication that there is very much an interest for it — we’ll have a look at what that means.

“I’m not sure that a fulltime team playing 14 home games out of the Gold Coast is the right answer (but) with what work has been done between Gold Coast and the Chinese community and China in general, this could potentially be a great home for a team that plays part of its games here, part of its games on the road and does a lot of work in China.

“That’s something we’re absolutely looking very closely at.”

An All-Australian NBL team recently toured China to play three games, with China then heading to Australia to take on Melbourne United on Sunday and the Bullets on Tuesday.

The tours reinforced the links being forged between the NBL and Chinese Basketball Association and its president, former NBA player Yao Ming.

“There would have to be without a doubt an Asian contingent playing for the (Gold Coast) team,” Kestelman said.

“We’re working closely with Yao Ming and the CBA in China to figure out what we think their involvement (will be) and how that model might look.”

While a team could be introduced as soon as the 2018-19 season, Kestelman would not put a firm timeline on the project, saying league expansion was a wish rather than a must.

“Expansion is a buzzword and we’re not expansion at all costs, we’re actually quite OK with where the league is at,” he said.

“If there is the right opportunity, then we’ll do it, if not, we don’t have to do anything, so we’ll take it one step at a time.

“A team in Melbourne and a team based on the Gold Coast and playing in a number of different venues around Australia and games in China and Asia in general … they’re the two things we’re looking at currently.

“We will be aiming for next season (2018-19) but we won’t put any hard timelines on it.”

Gold Coast Rollers backer Billy Cross has thrown his support behind the idea, saying it would give the area’s young players a pathway from junior basketball to the NBL.

“We’re moving in the right direction to creating our own (Gold Coast) NBL team,” Cross said.

“Imagine the two (CBA and NBL players) merging together, imagine the type of team you’d have — our local Gold Coast kids with some great Chinese players, it’s just brilliant.”

The involvement of China would be a boon for the organisation in terms of sourcing corporate support, something that may otherwise be difficult in a city that already boasts NRL and AFL teams.

“You’ve got so much development here, so many Chinese-backed consortiums, we could definitely get that corporate sponsorship.”

Kestelman too believes the Gold Coast’s links to China will benefit any team introduced.

The Gold Coast is booming, it’s growing, it’s an amazing part of Australia,” he said.

“It seems to be working hard to have the links into the Asian market, so it all seems to make sense.

“It all seems to come together as a very supportive, very progressive council in place, Commonwealth Games have built amazing infrastructure, so there’s a lot of ticks.

“When something makes sense, you should seriously look at it and that’s what we’re doing.”

Source: Gold Coast Bulletin 21 July 2017

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