AUS - WNBL Grand Final rematch kicks off 2006/07 season

SYDNEY (WNBL) - The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season for 2006/07 takes up from where it reached its exciting conclusion in 05/06, with a grand final rematch as the opening encounter of the season on Friday, October 6.

Reigning champions, the Canberra TransACT Capitals host the Dandenong Jayco Rangers in a Friday night clash, with both teams set to look remarkably different than the ones that took the floor for the Grand Final last February.

Australian women’s basketball continues to bask in the glory of its success at the Commonwealth Games in March, where 11 of the 12 Australian Opals came straight from the WNBL to take gold in a dominant display over all their rivals. This season’s WNBL competition will directly follow the Opals assault on the FIBA World Championships in Brazil where the Aussie girls will be gunning for their first gold medal at that level of international competition.

Australia has won two bronze World Championship medals, but want to prove they can knock off the world’s reigning number one team, the USA, in an official FIBA-sanctioned competition.

2006/07 marks the 27th season of competition for the WNBL, which tipped off with six teams playing a two-round competition in 1981. The competition has a long and rich history, which was celebrated in the 25th anniversary season in 2004/05.

The League has produced a long list of talented female basketballers for Australia and has been the major thrust behind the success of the Australian Opals. Names such as Robyn Maher, Michelle Timms, Rachael Sporn, Trish Fallon and Lauren Jackson were first heard as members of WNBL teams and all remain legends of the game in this country.

The new stars of game will be in action throughout the 06/07 season with Opals young guns Erin Phillips and Renae Camino set to light up the court for their respective teams (Adelaide and Townsville), while established players such as Natalie Porter, Hollie Grima, Carly Wilson and Alicia Poto will be grinding it out for their respective teams. US College graduate, Jess Foley, will be one to watch when she suits up for her first professional season with the Adelaide Lightning.

It was one of the closest competition finishes in history last season, and with both grand final teams (Canberra and Dandenong) losing a majority of their stars in the off season, the competition opens up. The Championship could go to any of the eight teams from six States and Territories represented.

This season’s competition starts a week later than recent years, with the opening round missing the usual clash with the AFL and NRL Grand Final weekend.

The schedule has been shortened from 18 rounds to 17 with the team’s Christmas break cut from two weeks to one and the regular season scheduled to conclude on January 28, 2007. The 2007 WNBL Finals are due to start on February 2 and the 2007 grand final will be played on Saturday, February 17.

Some notable dates on the 2006/07 calendar include:

20-21 October– The popular double header weekend returns to the AIS Arena with Bulleen and Perth playing the AIS and Canberra over two big nights of action. Canberra has continued its commitment to play the majority of their games at the AIS Arena and will be looking to their dedicated fans to fill the large stadium.

4 November – Adelaide plays the first of three double headers with the 36ers at the Distinctive Homes Dome.

11 November – The WNBL heads to country WA for a travelling match between the Perth Lynx and Adelaide.

7 December – Geelong gets a taste of the WNBL when Bulleen Melbourne takes a home game south to take on the Canberra Capitals as part of the National Schools Basketball Tournament.

20 January – Dandenong welcomes the NBL’s newest team, the South Dragons, to their home court for a double header at Dandenong Stadium.

Basketball Australia