Wellington Saints

Wellington Saints
League National Basketball League
Founded 1981
History Wellington Saints
1999–present
Arena TSB Bank Arena
Location Wellington, New Zealand
Team colours Blue & white
Main sponsor Cigna New Zealand
CEO Nick Mills
President Justin Toebes
General manager Fran Scholey
Head coach Kevin Braswell
Ownership Nick Mills
Championships 10 (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017)
Website Saints.co.nz
Uniforms

The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Cigna Saints.

Team history

Background

In 1968, Father Terry O'Neil suggested to a tight-knit Senior 'A-team' that they form a St. Pat's Old Boys' Basketball Club. The newly formed club proved healthy competition to the established Marist Club, which became a healthy rivalry and an exciting competition for fans. In 1979, plans were beginning to form in order to start a National Basketball League in New Zealand. The established Marist Club and the Old Boys' Club began to look for a Physical Education teacher to coach both teams. Well-known American Fred Sawaya was appointed, becoming the first imported basketball coach.[1]

Early years

By the time the National League started in 1981, a strong men's team was ready for action. The powerful new club was officially named "the Saints" after it was strengthened by amalgamation of four St. Pat's teams and 12 Southern Basketball Club teams. In 1982, the Exchequer Saints won the second division title with the help of American import Kenny McFadden, promoting them to the first division for the 1983 season. From there on, the Saints built a dynasty in the 1980s, collecting four championships (1984, 1985, 1987 & 1988) and were runners-up in 1983 and 1986. McFadden was named most outstanding guard in 1983 and 1984 after leading the league in scoring both years. McFadden's performance during the 1980s was acknowledged in 2012 by his No. 5 jersey becoming the first in the NBL to be retired.[2]

1990s

The 1990s held dwindling fortunes for the Saints. Following the conclusion of the 1996 season, both the Capital Power Saints and the Hutt Valley Lakers were struggling to survive. They amalgamated for the 1997 season and became TransAlta Wellington after gaining naming rights sponsorship from energy company TransAlta. However, fans of the team wanted a 'real' name and so, for the 1998 season, they became the TransAlta Wizards. Even this wasn't strong enough for the fans and so, for the 1999 season, they returned to the original identity and became the Wellington Saints.[3]

Return to powerhouse team

The Saints returned to title contenders in the early 2000s, as they finished runners-up in 2001 and won their fifth title in 2003. The Saints stumbled through the rest of the decade before becoming the powerhouse team in 2010 following the demise of the Auckland Stars. They went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 behind the leadership of Lindsay Tait, and with the help of Corey Webster, the Saints garnered their eighth title in 2014. Between 2008 and 2016, the Saints were grand finalists every year except 2009 and 2013. The team won their ninth title in 2016 with the help of import Torrey Craig, Tai Wesley, Leon Henry, B. J. Anthony and Shea Ili.[4] In 2017, the Saints made National Basketball League history by becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season, going 18–0.[5][6] They went on to defeat the Canterbury Rams in the semi-finals before coming out victorious in the grand final over the Southland Sharks. They finished the 2017 season as the undisputed best NBL team of all time, after they became the first team to complete an unbeaten season, capping off a perfect 20–0 campaign by beating Southland 108–75 in the NBL championship decider. The victory sealed a 10th championship for the Saints; their second in a row and fifth in eight years.[7][8] The Saints returned to the grand final in 2018 behind league MVP Shea Ili, but missed the chance at their first three-peat with a 98–96 loss to the Sharks.[9]

Australian NBL hopes

In February 2014, after many years of angling for a Wellington presence in the Australian National Basketball League, Saints' CEO Nick Mills appeared set to get his wish, with ANBL boss Fraser Neill viewing a capital-based team as a prime candidate for a proposed four-team expansion in the 2015–16 season. With the ANBL hoping to expand from eight to 16 teams within five years, Wellington, Brisbane, Tasmania, Canberra and a second Melbourne side were all in the mix for 2015–16.[10] Initial talks between Mills and Neill were positive but they struck a speed bump during a meeting in May 2014 after Mills' bid differed from the ANBL's preference.[11]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Wellington Saints roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.
G 2 United States Peak, L. J. (I) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
F 3 New Zealand Ekenasio, Damien 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
G 4 New Zealand Stubbins, Jackson 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
6 New Zealand Te Kotiri-Walsh, Jacob
G 7 Australia Bruce, Shaun (I) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
G 10 New Zealand Mills, Jordan 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
F 11 New Zealand Ngatai, Jordan 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
F 15 New Zealand Henry, Leon (C) 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
G 19 New Zealand Mumtaz, Javaan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
F 20 New Zealand Anthony, B. J.  2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
F 21 New Zealand Hunt, Jordan 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 22 South Sudan Majok, Majok (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 50 New Zealand Temara, Shane 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
G 55 New Zealand Ili, Shea 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
New Zealand Brien, Matt
New Zealand Heather, William
New Zealand Roberson, Ben
G New Zealand Vaigafa, Ezrah 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Head coach
Team manager
  • New Zealand Brendon Polyblank
  • New Zealand Robert Hartley
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured
Updated: 22 June 2018

References

  1. ↑ Wellington Saints – Wo Are We
  2. ↑ "Saints Legend Kenny McFadden becomes first NBL player with a retired jersey". Saints.co.nz. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Locations – Exodus Saints". Wotzon.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
  4. ↑ SAINTS CLAIM 9TH NBL TITLE
  5. ↑ Wellington Saints complete perfect National Basketball League regular season
  6. ↑ Wellington Saints' NBL season won't be perfect without another championship
  7. ↑ Basketball: Wellington Saints complete perfect NBL season
  8. ↑ Wellington Saints complete perfect season with NBL final win over Southland Sharks
  9. ↑ SHARKS CLAIM THIRD TITLE WITH GUTSY WIN OVER DEFENDING CHAMPION SAINTS
  10. ↑ ANBL dream now a step closer for Nick Mills
  11. ↑ Contrary visions stall Wellington's ANBL talks
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