Geelong United (NBL1 South)

Club history

The Geelong Basketball Club launched its men's team in 1977. After finishing sixth in the Victorian Championship in 1978 and fifth in 1979, the club signed Cal Bruton, Steven Kelocinski, and Ray Shirley in 1980. That year, the team won three major tournaments and came second in the VBA championships. In 1981, the Geelong Cats entered the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and claimed both the inaugural SEABL championship and the first ABA National championship. This success earned them an invitation to the Converse Super Challenge in Adelaide, where they beat Launceston, West Adelaide, and St Kilda to win the tournament. They also defeated Nunawading to become Victorian Summer Championship Premiers, which secured their entry into the National Basketball League (NBL) for 1982. The Cats were runners-up in the 1982 NBL season, winning 13 straight games and finishing second on the ladder before losing the Grand Final 80–74 to the West Adelaide Bearcats. Cal Bruton was named NBL Coach of the Year. Geelong topped the NBL’s Western Division in both 1983 and 1984. Ownership troubles in the late 1980s caused a player exodus after 1987, leading to a winless 1988 season, when the team changed its name from the Cats to the Supercats. Local businessmen secured a license to keep the team in the NBL. After a top-three finish in 1991, another player exodus saw the Supercats finish last in 1992. The license was sold back to the league after the 1996 season, and the team’s final NBL game was a 100–94 loss to the Sydney Kings. Over 15 years, the Supercats played 388 NBL games.