2020 MSBL season

The 2020 MSBL season was to be the 32nd season of the Men's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season was set to begin on Saturday 14 March, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the season was cancelled.

2020 MSBL season
LeagueState Basketball League
SportBasketball
DurationSeason that was scheduled:
14 March – 25 July (Regular season)
31 July – 22 August (Finals)
Number of games26
Number of teams14

Season that was scheduled

After two weekends of pre-season games (the first for regional teams and the second for metro teams),[1] the regular season was set to begin on Saturday 14 March and end on Saturday 25 July after 20 rounds of competition. A small-scale round 1 was scheduled to open the season, with the Goldfields Giants playing away to the Geraldton Buccaneers and Cockburn Cougars. A full round of fixtured games in round 2 was then scheduled for the remaining teams to make their season debuts. In continuing tradition, there was to be Easter Round (5), Anzac Round (6), Women's Round (9), Heritage Round (13), and Mental Health Awareness Round (18).[2] The finals was then scheduled to take place between Friday 31 July and Saturday 22 August, concluding with the MSBL Grand Final. Under a revised finals model, the finals was to take place across four weekends instead of five to better align with the NBL1 format.[2][3][4]

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in Australia in early to mid March 2020, the season was suspended indefinitely with no games having taken place.[5][6][7] On 14 May 2020, the season was officially cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.[8]

West Coast Classic

To fill the void of a cancelled SBL season, a state amateur competition known as the West Coast Classic was announced on 12 June 2020. Presented by Basketball WA, all 14 Men's SBL teams competed in the 10-week competition. The competition began on Friday 24 July and had all teams playing each other once in a home and away fixture. The top four teams following the regular season competed in the finals, with semi-finals on Friday 25 September and the grand final on Sunday 27 September.[9][10][11][12]

The Warwick Senators finished atop the regular-season standings with a 12–1 record.[13] The semi-finals featured the Senators against the fourth-seeded Lakeside Lightning and the second-seeded Perry Lakes Hawks against the third-seeded Joondalup Wolves,[14][15] with the Senators defeating the Lightning 92–84 and the Hawks defeating the Wolves 96–70.[16][17][18][19] In the grand final, the Senators defeated the Hawks 96–81 behind 15 points, six rebounds and six assists from game MVP Corban Wroe.[20][21]

References
  1. "SBL PRE-SEASON BLITZ". SBL.asn.au. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. "2020 SBL SCHEDULE". SBL.asn.au. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. "A revised SBL Finals Model has been announced for the #SBL20 season!". facebook.com/WA.SBL. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. "NEW SBL FINALS MODEL FOR 2020". SBL.asn.au. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  5. "UPDATE: SBL Games Postponed". facebook.com/WA.SBL. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  6. "SBL SEASON POSTPONED". SBL.asn.au. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020.
  7. "SBL SEASON POSTPONED". SBL.asn.au. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020.
  8. "MEDIA RELEASE: SBL 2020 CANCELLED". SBL.asn.au. 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020.
  9. "2020 WEST COAST CLASSIC". SBL.asn.au. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
  10. Garlepp, Josh (12 June 2020). "Basketball Western Australia announce West Coast Classic tournament in lieu of cancelled SBL season". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. "WEST COAST CLASSIC - 2020 FIXTURES" (PDF). BasketballWA.asn.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 July 2020.
  12. "ROUND 1 MEN'S WEST COAST CLASSIC PREVIEW". SBL.asn.au. 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020.
  13. "Standings for WCC Men 2020". SBL.asn.au. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020.
  14. "ROUND 9 SPOTLIGHT | LIGHTNING SECURE FINALS SPOT ON LAST POSSESSION". SBL.asn.au. 20 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. That means that the semi-finals will feature the Warwick Senators against the Lightning on Friday night at Warwick Stadium while the Perry Lakes Hawks play the Joondalup Wolves at Bendat Basketball Centre.
  15. "SEMI-FINAL MEN'S WEST COAST CLASSIC PREVIEW". SBL.asn.au. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020.
  16. "Senators vs Lightning". FIBALiveStats.com. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  17. "Hawks vs Wolves". FIBALiveStats.com. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  18. "SEMI FINALS WEST COAST CLASSIC MEN'S WRAP". SBL.asn.au. 26 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020.
  19. "GRAND FINAL MEN'S WEST COAST CLASSIC PREVIEW". SBL.asn.au. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020.
  20. "Senators vs Hawks". FIBALiveStats.com. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  21. "DEEP SENATORS TOO MUCH AS WARWICK WINS FIRST BANNER". SBL.asn.au. 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.
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