Canberra Cannons
Established	1979
Final Season	2002/03
Former Home Venue	AIS Arena AIS Arena AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Canberra, Australia. The capacity is 5,200 and was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre and was the inaugural home of the... , Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
Team Colours	White, Red and Blue
Championships	1983, 1984, 1988
Team History	Canberra Cannons (1979-2002/03) Hunter Pirates Hunter Pirates The Hunter Pirates were an Australian basketball team, based in the city of Newcastle, that competed in the National Basketball League.-Team history:... (2003/04-2005/06) Singapore Slingers Singapore Slingers The Singapore Slingers are an Asian basketball team that formerly competed in the Australian National Basketball League. They were the first - and so far the only - Asia-based club to compete in the NBL when they joined at the start of the 2006/07 season.... (2006/07-Present)

The Canberra Cannons were a basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team competing in the Australian National Basketball League

National Basketball League (Australasia)

The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

. They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates

Hunter Pirates

The Hunter Pirates were an Australian basketball team, based in the city of Newcastle, that competed in the National Basketball League.-Team history:...

. After this venture also folded the team was relocated to Singapore

Singapore Slingers

The Singapore Slingers are an Asian basketball team that formerly competed in the Australian National Basketball League. They were the first - and so far the only - Asia-based club to compete in the NBL when they joined at the start of the 2006/07 season....

 for the 2006/07 season.

The Cannons have always been considered as the team of the 80s, as it won three championships and was runner-up once more. The Brisbane Bullets

Brisbane Bullets

The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...

 could also claim this title after appearing in four finals in a row (excluding the 1990 loss to Perth), but only winning two.

History

The Cannons were one of the original ten NBL clubs, competing in the league's very first season in 1979. They reached the championship game with a 13-5 record, but fell at the final hurdle, losing to the St Kilda Saints 94-93 in the final.
Canberra failed to make the playoffs over the next few seasons, but in 1983 they won their first NBL championship, downing the West Adelaide Bearcats

West Adelaide Bearcats

The West Adelaide Bearcats are a semi-professional basketball team competing in the Australian Basketball Association.-NBL:The West Adelaide Bearcats was a foundation club in the NBL which merged with the Adelaide 36ers in 1985. Founded in 1946, it won the NBL championship 80–74 against the Geelong...

 75-73 in the Grand Final. Guard Phil Smyth

Phil Smyth

Philip John Smyth AM is an Australian former basketball player and former three time championship winning head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers.-Professional career:...

 led the NBL in steals and assists.

The Cannons repeated as champions in 1984, this time beating the Brisbane Bullets

Brisbane Bullets

The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...

 84-82 in the big game. Smyth again had a big season, being named to the All-NBL First Team

NBL (Australia) All NBL teams

-NBL First Teams:* 1980 Cal Stamp, Danny Morseu, Brian Banks, Herb McEachin, Ian Davies and Ken Richardson* 1981 Rocky Smith, Danny Morseu, Al Green, David Nelson and Owen Wells* 1982 George Morrow, James Crawford, Leroy Loggins, Phil Smyth and Larry Sengstock...

.

Canberra made the playoffs for the next three seasons but championship glory eluded them until 1988, when they beat the North Melbourne Giants

North Melbourne Giants

The North Melbourne Giants were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League.-History :The team was formed in 1980 as the Coburg Giants and were renamed in 1987 as the North Melbourne Giants...

 2-1 in a best-of-three championship series. Smyth again was named to the All-NBL First Team after leading the league in three-point percentage, free-throw percentage and steals, and was also named Best Defensive Player

NBL (Australia) Best Defensive Player

* 1980 Ray Wood * 1981 Ray Wood * 1982 Phil Smyth * 1983 Phil Smyth * 1984 not awarded* 1985 not awarded* 1986 not awarded* 1987 Leroy Loggins...

. North Melbourne exacted their revenge in 1989, beating the Cannons 2-0 in the championship series.

The Cannons failed to make the playoffs again until 1992, when they were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, the South East Melbourne Magic

South East Melbourne Magic

The South East Melbourne Magic were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the 1992 season...

. They reached the playoffs in 1996 making the semi finals before being eliminated by the Melbourne Tigers 2-1. They again made the finals in 1997 but were eliminated in the first round 2-1 by the North Melbourne Giants

North Melbourne Giants

The North Melbourne Giants were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League.-History :The team was formed in 1980 as the Coburg Giants and were renamed in 1987 as the North Melbourne Giants...

.

Financial problems dogged the club in the late 1990s, and the team finally succumbed to its money woes in December of 2002. The club managed to play all its remaining games from the 2002/03 NBL season, but were unable to hold on to their star players, including C. J. Bruton, the son of then-coach Cal Bruton

Cal Bruton

Calvin Bruton is a former player and coach in the Australian National Basketball League. Originally an American import, but later becoming a naturalised Australian, Bruton has been an integral part of the league since its inception...

, or any imports. Canberra finished with an 11-19 record, and the team was bought by a consortium that moved the team to Newcastle.

On the 23 October 2009 it was announced that the Canberra Cannons would be re-formed out of the Canberra Gunners

Canberra Gunners

The Canberra Gunners play in the East Conference of the South Eastern Australian Basketball League in the ABA. After the demise of the Canberra Cannons, they have become the premier men's basketball team in Canberra...

 and play in the Australian SEABL.

Honour Roll

NBL Championships:	3 (1983, 1984, 1988)
NBL Finals Appearances:	11 (1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1997)
NBL Grand Final appearances:	5 (1979, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989)
NBL Most Valuable Players:	None
NBL Grand Final MVPs:	Phil Smyth (1988)
All-NBL First Team:	Herb McEachin (1980), Dave Nelson (1981), Robert Rose (1996, 1997), Phil Smyth (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989), Cal Stamp (1980)
NBL Coach of the Year:	Bob Turner (1985), Brett Flanigan (1996)
NBL Rookie of the Year:	Jamie Kennedy (1983), Lachlan Armfield (1992), Damien Ryan Damien Ryan Damien Ryan is an Australian basketballer.Ryan attended Salesian College in Sunbury.After starring as a junior basketballer in Sunbury, Victoria, Ryan began his NBL career with the Canberra Cannons for the 1998/1999 season and he won the Rookie of the Year award for that season... (1999)
NBL Most Improved Player:	None
NBL Best Defensive Player:	Phil Smyth (1988, 1989)