The men's and women's champion from each ABA conference alongside a number of wildcard teams competed at the ABA National Finals every year between 1981 and 2008 except for 2001 when the event was cancelled due to the collapse of Ansett Airlines.[1][2] The ABA National Finals were known as the Australian Club Championships (ACC) in 2007 and 2008.[3] The ABA and ACC was abandoned following the 2008 season.[3]
Conferences
The ABA was established in 1981 and operated under many different names and structures until 2008.[4][5]
The ABA's roots can be traced back as far as 1965 when the South Eastern Conference (SEC) was established. The SEC continued until 1971 when the Australian Club Championships gained pre-eminence.[4] The Australian Club Championships ceased operations after 1980 due to the rise of Australia's first truly national competition, the National Basketball League (NBL).[4]
Melbourne Church of England, later becoming Melbourne Tigers, won the SEC in each of its six seasons.[25]
^ abThe 2001 National Finals were scheduled for Bendigo, however the demise of Ansett saw the difficult decision taken to cancel the Finals. The decision was made only as a last resort after all contingencies were evaluated.[17]
^Ractliffe, Damien (12 June 2019). "Geelong Supercats: 1999 imports Rod Walker, Clyde Jordan in town to celebrate 20-year championship reunion". geelongadvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 21 January 2020. SUPERCATS great Rod Walker says the camaraderie of the 1999 championship team made flying back to Australia for the 20-year reunion a no-brainer. The star American import played an unbelievable finals series for the Supercats to help his side win the Australian Basketball Association title in 1999, to claim the most valuable player of the series.
^"Harvey eyes fourth SEABL title". BendigoAdvertiser.com.au. 11 August 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2017. That encounter was the 2000 ABA national finals in Bendigo when Harvey was named MVP as he led Hobart to a thrilling one-point victory.