Goldfields Giants
| Goldfields Giants | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | State Basketball League |
| Founded | 1990 |
| History |
Goldfields Giants 1990–present |
| Arena | Niels Hansen Stadium |
| Capacity | 1,200 |
| Location | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia |
| Team colors | Navy blue, gold, white |
| Main sponsor | Silver Lake Resources |
| President | Jamie Crombie |
| Head coach | Lou Causer |
| Team captain | Jacob Holmen |
| Championships | 2 (2007, 2008) |
| Website | GoldfieldsGiants.com |
The Goldfields Giants are a men's basketball team from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia competing in the semi-professional State Basketball League (SBL). The Giants are a division of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association, the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. For sponsorship reasons, the team is known as the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants.
Since debuting in the SBL in 1990, the Giants have reached five Grand Finals, culminating in back-to-back championship wins in 2007 and 2008. They were also runners-up in 1995, 2004 and 2006. The Giants are one of four SBL clubs from Western Australian regional cities (along with the Geraldton Buccaneers, Mandurah Magic and South West Slammers), while the remaining ten teams are based within the Perth metropolitan area.
History
The Giants entered the State Basketball League in 1990, one year after the league's inaugural season in 1989. In their first season, the Giants were involved in a game against the Willetton Tigers where the scoreline was 155–134 in the Giants' favour. In that game, American import Paul Graham scored a league record-equalling 82 points on 34-of-51 from the field, 11-of-11 from the free throw line, and just one made three-pointer. Following that game, Graham parted ways with the team and returned to the United States for an NBA tryout.[1] In 10 games for the Giants, Graham averaged an incredible 43.3 points per game.[2] To replace Graham, the Giants signed Mark Griffin who teamed up alongside Calvin Earl.[3] However, the team failed to make the playoffs in their first season, finishing the year in 12th place with a 7–19 win/loss record.
The Giants made the playoffs for the first time in 1993, a season where they finished eighth on the ladder with a 9–15 win/loss record. The following season, they finished as quarter-finalists for the second year in a row, before finally making it through to the Grand Final in 1995 where they faced the Bunbury Slammers. In the league's first and only best-of-three grand final series, the Giants were defeated 91–78 in Game 1, and 88–86 in Game 2, losing the series 2–0 to the Slammers.[4] They continued to make the playoffs in 1996 and 1997, before having a two-year playoff hiatus to round out the 1990s.
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Between 2000 and 2010, the Giants made the playoffs every year except 2003. Included in this run of playoff appearances, the Giants made the Grand Final in 2004 and 2006, losing both times. The team's golden years took place over the next two years, with the Giants winning back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008, defeating the Lakeside Lightning in the 2007 grand final,[5] and the Willetton Tigers in the 2008 grand final.[4][6] In both seasons, the team was led by captain Shamus Ballantyne and vice captains Mark Heron and Ryan Hulme. Import Michael Haney was also a major factor in the team's success, as was Matthew Leske and Todd Earle.[7][8]
In the wake of their successful playoff run during the 2000s, the Giants dropped off between 2011 and 2014, managing to make a lone quarter-final appearance in 2012 with a 13–13 win/loss record. In 2013 and 2014, the team won a combined 10 games, finishing second last and last respectfully. This poor two-year run by the Giants forced major changes coming into the 2015 season. The first move that was made was appointing former import and club legend Michael Haney as head coach. Along with two new imports in Jay Bowie and Jacob Holmen, the Giants added former Melbourne Tigers centre Edin Zunic, Queensland guard Brandon Holloway, and former club captain Shamus Ballantyne.[9] Tipped to finish outside the top eight again,[9] the Giants demonstrated early in the 2015 season that they were headed for such a finish. However, with Bowie, Holmen and mid-season signing Mathiang Muo leading the charge as the new-look "Big Three", the Giants began to surge after losing their first eight games of the season. The Giants ended up winning 14 of their last 18 games to qualify for the playoffs in seventh position. Then, in dramatic fashion, they swept the No. 2 seeded Geraldton Buccaneers in two games in the quarter-finals, moving on to the semi-finals for the first time since 2009.[10][11] Their dream run ended, however, in the semis where they faced the South West Slammers. While staying competitive in the best-of-three series, their luck ran out as they were defeated 2–0 by the Slammers to bow out of the playoffs.
In 2016, Jacob Holmen returned to the Giants and was joined by fellow import Kenny Manigault. The club was confident coming into 2016 despite the loss of Mathiang Muo, Jay Bowie, Brandon Hewitt-Holloway and Shamus Ballantyne. Whereas the Giants had a resurgence to finish 2015, their 2016 fortunes was not so fairytale-like as they hit a mid-season slump, losing 10 straight games to fall out of playoff contention.[12]
Season-by-Season Results
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Current roster
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Notable former players
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References
- ↑ "Giants Throwback Thursday – Third Edition". GoldfieldsGiants.com. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ "SKYWEST BASKETBALL LEAGUE: MEN – All time Players". BasketballWA.asn.au. Archived from the original on July 18, 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ "1990 Playing List & Coaching Staff". GoldfieldsGiants.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- 1 2 "Past Champions". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ "2007 Grand Final: Goldfields Giants vs Lakeside Lightning - Last 90 seconds". YouTube.com. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ McLaren, Rebecca (12 September 2008). "Giant Champions". ABC.net.au. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "2007 Statistics". GoldfieldsGiants.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ "2008 Statistics". GoldfieldsGiants.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- 1 2 "SBL season preview – Goldfields Giants". FoxSportsPulse.com. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (16 July 2015). "Giants hunger behind them securing a return to playoffs". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (16 July 2015). "Red hot Giants excited for challenge of Slammers in semis". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (1 July 2016). "Giants not giving up on playoffs with four of last six at home". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
