2019 NBL1 season

The 2019 NBL1 season was the inaugural season of the NBL1. The season began on 29 March and concluded on 17 August with grand final day for both the men's and women's seasons.^[1]

2019 NBL1 season
League	NBL1
Sport	Basketball
Duration	29 March – 21 July (Regular season) 27 July – 17 August (Finals)
Number of teams	18
Regular season
Minor premiers	M: Ballarat Miners W: Bendigo Braves
Season MVP	M: Demarcus Gatlin (Geelong Supercats) W: Kelly Wilson (Bendigo Braves)
Finals
Champions	M: Nunawading Spectres W: Kilsyth Cobras
Runners-up	M: Bendigo Braves W: Geelong Supercats
Grand Final MVP	M: Dain Swetalla (Nunawading Spectres) W: Lauren Nicholson (Kilsyth Cobras)

The NBL1 in 2019 was a single league and consisted of one conference run by Basketball Victoria. The teams, mostly from Victoria and Tasmania, would go on to make up the NBL1 South in 2020 after the inclusion of multiple new conferences.

Background

Basketball Victoria introduced a new senior elite league in 2019 called NBL1 after partnering with the National Basketball League (NBL).^[2][3][4]

The former teams from the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) were part of the inaugural NBL1 season, while Eltham Wildcats, Knox Raiders, Ringwood Hawks and Waverley Falcons joined from the Big V.^[2] The 2018 SEABL champions, the Hobart Chargers, chose not to enter the NBL1 in 2019. They were replaced by the Hobart Huskies.^[5]

Clubs

Club	City	Arena
Albury Wodonga Bandits	Albury, New South Wales	Lauren Jackson Sports Centre
BA Centre of Excellence	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	AIS Basketball Centre
Ballarat Rush (Women) Ballarat Miners (Men)	Ballarat, Victoria	MARS Minerdome
Bendigo Braves	Bendigo, Victoria	Bendigo Stadium
Dandenong Rangers	Melbourne, Victoria	Dandenong Stadium
Diamond Valley Eagles	Melbourne, Victoria	Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre
Eltham Wildcats	Melbourne, Victoria	Eltham High School
Frankston Blues	Melbourne, Victoria	Frankston Stadium
Geelong Supercats	Geelong, Victoria	Geelong Arena
Hobart Huskies	Hobart, Tasmania	Kingborough Sports Centre
Kilsyth Cobras	Melbourne, Victoria	Kilsyth Sports Centre
Knox Raiders	Melbourne, Victoria	State Basketball Centre
Launceston Tornadoes (Women)	Launceston, Tasmania	Elphin Sports Centre
Melbourne Tigers	Melbourne, Victoria	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
North-West Tasmania Thunder (Men)	Ulverstone, Tasmania	Schweppes Arena
Nunawading Spectres	Melbourne, Victoria	Nunawading Basketball Centre
Ringwood Hawks	Melbourne, Victoria	The Rings
Sandringham Sabres	Melbourne, Victoria	Nunn Media Basketball Centre
Waverley Falcons	Melbourne, Victoria	Waverley Basketball Centre

Regular season

Standings

Men's ladder Pos Team[6] W L 1 Ballarat Miners 16 4 2 Frankston Blues 14 6 3 Nunawading Spectres 14 6 4 Kilsyth Cobras 12 8 5 Melbourne Tigers 12 8 6 Geelong Supercats 12 8 7 Dandenong Rangers 11 9 8 Bendigo Braves 11 9 9 Hobart Huskies 10 10 10 Waverley Falcons 10 10 11 Diamond Valley Eagles 9 11 12 Albury Wodonga Bandits 8 12 13 North-West Tasmania Thunder 8 12 14 Knox Raiders 8 12 15 BA Centre of Excellence 8 12 16 Ringwood Hawks 6 14 17 Eltham Wildcats 6 14 18 Sandringham Sabres 5 15

Women's ladder Pos Team[7] W L 1 Bendigo Braves 19 1 2 Geelong Supercats 17 3 3 Ringwood Hawks 15 5 4 Kilsyth Cobras 14 6 5 Knox Raiders 14 6 6 Nunawading Spectres 12 8 7 Waverley Falcons 11 9 8 Dandenong Rangers 11 9 9 Eltham Wildcats 10 10 10 Albury Wodonga Bandits 9 11 11 Frankston Blues 9 11 12 Ballarat Rush 8 12 13 Melbourne Tigers 8 12 14 BA Centre of Excellence 6 14 15 Hobart Huskies 6 14 16 Sandringham Sabres 4 16 17 Launceston Tornadoes 4 16 18 Diamond Valley Eagles 3 17

Finals

Men's bracket

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals						Preliminary finals					Grand final
	Jul 27, Ballarat Minerdome
	1	Ballarat Miners	80
	4	Kilsyth Cobras	66			Aug 4, Kilsyth Sports Centre
						Kilsyth Cobras		104
	Jul 28, MSAC					Bendigo Braves		115				Aug 10, Ballarat Minerdome
	5	Melbourne Tigers	76									Ballarat Miners		68
	8	Bendigo Braves	86									Nunawading Spectres		75			Aug 17, State Basketball Centre
																	Nunawading Spectres		99
	Jul 27, Geelong Arena											Aug 10, Frankston Basketball Stadium					Bendigo Braves		90
	6	Geelong Supercats	85									Frankston Blues		67
	7	Dandenong Rangers	79			Aug 3, Nunawading Basketball Centre						Bendigo Braves		85
						Nunawading Spectres		82
	Jul 27, Frankston Basketball Stadium					Geelong Supercats		76
	2	Frankston Blues	107
	3	Nunawading Spectres	97

Women's bracket

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals						Preliminary finals					Grand final
	Aug 2, Bendigo Stadium
	1	Bendigo Braves	70
	4	Kilsyth Cobras	85			Aug 4, Bendigo Stadium
						Bendigo Braves		82
	Aug 3, State Basketball Centre					Knox Raiders		65				Aug 10, Kilsyth Sports Centre
	5	Knox Raiders	86									Kilsyth Cobras		82
	8	Dandenong Rangers	65									Nunawading Spectres		59			Aug 17, State Basketball Centre
																	Geelong Supercats		76
	Aug 3, Nunawading Basketball Centre											Aug 11, Geelong Arena					Kilsyth Cobras		86
	6	Nunawading Spectres	89									Geelong Supercats		83
	7	Waverley Falcons	61			Aug 4, The Rings						Bendigo Braves		80
						Ringwood Hawks		73
	Aug 3, Geelong Arena					Nunawading Spectres		97
	2	Geelong Supercats	78
	3	Ringwood Hawks	63

Awards

Main article: NBL1 South Awards

• Men's Most Valuable Player: Demarcus Gatlin (Geelong Supercats)^[8]
• Women's Most Valuable Player: Kelly Wilson (Bendigo Braves)
• Men's Grand Final MVP: Dain Swetalla (Nunawading Spectres)^[9]
• Women's Grand Final MVP: Lauren Nicholson (Kilsyth Cobras)
• Men's Defensive Player of the Year: Dane Pineau (Melbourne Tigers)
• Women's Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Nicholson (Kilsyth Cobras)
• Men's Youth Player of the Year: Alex Ducas (BA Centre of Excellence)
• Women's Youth Player of the Year: Anneli Maley (Diamond Valley Eagles)
• Men's Coach of the Year: Andrew Harms (Frankston Blues)
• Women's Coach of the Year: Tim Mottin (Ringwood Hawks)
• Club of the Year: Bendigo Braves
• Men's Referee of the Year: Andrew Hollowood
• Women's Referee of the Year: Tayla Flint
• Men's All-Star Five:
  • Demarcus Gatlin (Geelong Supercats)
  • Ray Turner (Bendigo Braves)
  • Jerry Evans Jr. (Ballarat Miners)
  • Dane Pineau (Melbourne Tigers)
  • Simon Conn (Nunawading Spectres)
• Women's All-Star Five:
  • Kelly Wilson (Bendigo Braves)
  • Lauren Nicholson (Kilsyth Cobras)
  • Rebecca Cole (Dandenong Rangers)
  • Lauren Scherf (Knox Raiders)
  • Ezi Magbegor (Geelong Supercats)