Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Braves play their home games at Bendigo Stadium.
Club history
Background
In 1981, a meeting was held between basketballers and basketball lovers that resulted in "The Braves" being formed. This group was trying to raise funds for the already existing Bendigo Braves and Lady Braves. The Braves were competing in the Victorian Country Championships, generally with mixed success. The teams were made up entirely of local Bendigo Basketball Association (BBA) players. There were no American imports, no sponsors, no player payments, players paid all expenses related to accommodation, transport, and meals and purchased their own tracksuits. Often when away at these championship weekends, the whole team would stay in a single room to keep costs low – there were BBA senior representative teams known as the Braves competing before 1981, but no "official" club had been formed. Well-known and respected basketball identity, Mr. Max Brisbane, had actually named the teams "The Braves" some years earlier.
By 1982, the club was more organised and had a growing membership. At the start of 1983, the club entered the 3rd division of the Victorian Basketball Association (VBA), with the intention of reaching 1st division in the near future. At that time, the VBA rules stipulated that teams must win a division title to be promoted to the next level and so the Braves were prepared for a long haul to the top. In the early days, the Braves played on court 7 & 8 at Albert Park Stadium. 1982 was not a particularly successful year with the team performing poorly in both competitions.
As a result, a crisis meeting was held to discuss the future direction of the club. Those present felt a professional coach was needed to lift the team to a higher standard. This was the club's first step into professional basketball and player payments. What was needed was to look further afield than Bendigo. If a top Melbourne coach could be found, his job would entail coaching weekly VBA Wednesday night games and travelling to Bendigo for additional training sessions on weekends. The number one choice for this position was dual Olympian, Mel Dalgleish. Within two weeks, Dalgleish had met with the club and association officials and outlined his vision for Bendigo basketball and the Braves. He was appointed as player-coach of the Bendigo Braves and the Development Officer of the BBA within weeks.
Through Dalgleish's reputation as an Olympian and NBL player, the Braves were automatically accepted into the VBA 1st division for the 1984 season. The team continued to travel to Albert Park every Wednesday night. At this time, the Braves profile was further enhanced with Dalgleish's selection in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Team. This was the first time that a player not competing at NBL level had ever been selected.
At the end of 1984, the club took the significant step of applying to enter the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). The entry process into the league was very involved and required a substantial financial commitment. Although the league was in its infancy, three teams had applied to take the one position available at that time, and competition for entry was fierce. A detailed submission was prepared and presented to the Annual General Meeting of the League, and after an extremely tense weekend the news came through; the Braves had become the first country team accepted into the SEABL.
Men's team
In 1985, the Bendigo Braves entered the SEABL for the first time. They missed the playoffs in their inaugural season under Mel Dalgleish, and for the 1986 season, he was replaced by Tom Flavin. Another year of missing the playoffs saw Flavin being replaced by David Flint in 1987. In Flint's second season as coach, the Braves not only won the SEABL South Conference title but also took out the 1988 ABA National Championship. David Johnson's short but sweet career with the Braves was one of the club's most exceptional, as he averaged 47.8 points per game over 94 contests, including an individual scoring performance of 70 points against the Bulleen Boomers in the 1988 championship game. Two years later, Johnson and Flint led the Braves to another conference title, this time taking out the East Conference championship.