Defending champs Phoenix the teams to beat

HOBART Phoenix will be out to confirm its status as the premier local basketball club when the 2017 State League tips off this weekend on the North West Coast.

Phoenix is the defending champion in both the men’s and women’s competitions, and both sides will again be favoured to reach the grand final.

The women’s outfit will be joined by the 2014 State League winners Penguin Blues, the BTAS High Performance squad and debutants KingboroughHuon and Launceston Japara.

Eight teams feature in the men’s competition, with BTAS High Performance, Kingborough-Huon and Hobart Moonah returning to chase Phoenix.

NWBU premiers Penguin Blues enter for the first time alongside fellow coastal club Somerset Heat, while a new-look Launceston Lightning will be young and looking to play a fast transition style. Clarence United — a combination of three Hobart clubs joining on the Eastern Shore to form the association — rounds out the entrants.

“Our teams wanted to play games in a shorter time frame and we have introduced central venue concepts where teams will play three or four games over a weekend, like a mini-tournament but continuing with an overall ladder and a finals weekend,” Basketball Tasmania chief Chris McCoy said.

“We have kept the finals weekend in Launceston and introduced a central venue on the North West Coast and also a central venue weekend in Hobart [November 4-5]. The finals weekend on November 18-19 will coincide with the BTAS Gala weekend.”