South Eastern Basketball League 1981–1987 South East Australian Basketball League 1988–1991 Continental Basketball Association 1992–1998 Australian Basketball Association 1999–2008
In 1965, the South Eastern Conference (SEC) was established. The SEC continued until 1971 when the Australian Club Championships gained pre-eminence.[1][2] The Australian Club Championships ceased operations after 1980 due to the rise of Australia's first truly national competition, the National Basketball League (NBL).[1][3]
In 1981, the SEC was reborn as the South Eastern Basketball League (SEBL).[1][3] The competition was known as SEBL for seven seasons until being officially known as the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) from 1988 to 1991.[4] The competition became known as the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and in 1994 it merged with the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) to grow to three conferences: North, South and East.[1] In 1998, the CBA saw further expansion with the inclusion of a Central Conference from South Australia.[1]
The CBA was restructured as the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) in 1999,[5] and over the next two years, the Big V from Victoria (2000) and the Waratah League from New South Wales (2001) joined the ABA.[1]
Starting in 2002, the champions of each of the six conferences and a number of wildcard entries competed at the annual ABA National Finals.[1] A brand change saw the Australian Club Championships (ACC) operate as the national finals series in 2007 and 2008.[6]
The ABA and ACC was abandoned following the 2008 season, resulting in the SEABL, QBL, Central ABL, Big V and Waratah League continuing on as independent leagues.[6]
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