Raiders' return to SBL not forgotten

Albany's hopes of rejoining the State Basketball League have been renewed with a bid to host the 2017 under-18 national championships likely to act as a catalyst for an application to resurrect the Great Southern Raiders.

Speaking last week, with the Albany Basketball Association's season a week away, president Craig Tester said a potential 2018 return to the SBL was on the cards and a re-entry into the competition "was on the backburners, but not forgotten about".

The Raiders committee submitted a draft proposal to the SBL after the Australia versus China YouYi Games match in June 2012 seeking inclusion in 2013, but later amended the date to the following year before their push stalled in early 2013.

Attracting major sponsors and financial backing as well as venue costs were all identified as stumbling blocks two years ago, but Tester was optimistic that these could be overcome in due course.

"We need 12 months to set up a really good bid," he said.

"If we can run a national championships well, it proves to Basketball WA we can do this.

"We want to run this ourselves."

Albany was the first regional team to enter the SBL in 1989 but folded 10 years later amid a financial battle.

Tester said options to financially support the Raiders' application include finding a major sponsor or up to 20 sponsors, renegotiating their use of the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre and potentially introducing an SBL levy in the local competition

"We want longevity, we want to do it right and do it once," Tester said.

"We are a growth sport. We don't want to lose our kids to metropolitan teams if we can develop our local products - and the only way to develop them is play."

SBL chief operating officer Christian Rice said the State's premier basketball competition was willing to resume discussions with Albany on their application, but there had been no communication with the ABA since their application was put on hold.

"We're hoping to recommence dialogue to see the re-forming of an SBL program in Albany," he said.

"It needs to be sustainable and well thought out and planned.

"At the end of the day to get it off the ground and run it on a day-to-day basis you need the people on the ground otherwise it will be fruitless."