Taranaki Mountainairs

The Taranaki Mountainairs are a New Zealand basketball team based in New Plymouth. The Mountainairs compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Steelformers Mountainairs.

Taranaki Mountainairs
LeagueNational Basketball League
HistoryNew Plymouth Bulls
1985–1991
New Plymouth Bears
1992–1993
Taranaki Bears
1994–1997
Taranaki Oilers
1998–1999
Taranaki Mountainairs
2003–2007
Taranaki Dynamos
2008–2009
Taranaki Mountainairs
2010–present
ArenaTSB Stadium
LocationNew Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand
Team coloursYellow & black
Main sponsorSteelformers
PresidentLaine Hopkinson
Head coachDoug Courtney
Championships0
Websitetaranakimountainairs.basketball

Team history

A New Plymouth team played in the inaugural season of the Conference Basketball League (CBL) in 1981 and earned runners-up honours. The team went on to finish as runners-up in the CBL Northern Conference in 1983, before winning the CBL championship in 1984.[1]

The team was promoted to the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1985 season.[2] In 1992, New Plymouth were crowned regular season winners for the first time.[2] In 1994, the team was rebranded as Taranaki.[3] Following the 1999 season, the franchise withdrew from the NBL.[4]

In 2001, a Taranaki team known as the Stormers were the winners of the CBL Central Conference.[5] The following year, the Stormers were once again winners of the CBL Central Conference,[6] earning an 18–0 regular-season record before going on to win the CBL championship with an 85–81 victory over the Kaikoura Whale Riders in the final led by point guard Willie Banks and import forward Link Abrams.[7][8]

In 2003, Taranaki's bid for renewed NBL status was successful,[8] re-entering the top-flight league as the Mountainairs. In 2009 and 2015, the team had winless seasons.

In September 2019, it was revealed that the team had significant debt that could cause them to withdraw from the 2020 NBL season.[9][10] The following month, naming rights partner Steelformers stepped in to save the team from collapse.[11]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Taranaki Mountainairs roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.
0 Nunag, Joseph
1 Brooke, Denhym
3 Mulvihill, Francis
4 Wynyard, Tai
5 Robertson, Oscar
8 Raukawa, Derone (C)
10 Tuffin, Kenneth
11 Fenwick, Baxter
21 Davison, Carlin
22 Easthope, Zachary
23 Dance, Mitchell
24 Temara, Shane
62 Jones, Marcel
Head coach
  • Doug Courtney
Assistant coach(es)
  • Joshua Paurini
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured
Updated: 5 July 2020
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References
  1. "2010 Conference Basketball League" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2015.
  2. "2015 Bartercard National Basketball League Handbook" (PDF). nz.basketball. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. "Taranaki Mountainairs". Australiabasket.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. "Basketball: Celebrations muted by off-court tension". nzherald.co.nz. 1999. Retrieved 14 August 2019. The 2000 league will be missing the Taranaki Oilers, who quit on financial grounds this month...
  5. "2001 Conference Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  6. "2002 Conference Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  7. Bird, Tony (18 April 2008). "Abrams set to chalk up century". Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 12 July 2019. Abrams led the Stormers to a perfect 18-0 season and the Conference Basketball League title in 2002...
  8. "Taranaki Take Out CBL Title". bbnz.org.nz. 25 August 2002. Archived from the original on 12 October 2002.
  9. Hanne, Ilona (26 September 2019). "Future of Taranaki's Mountain Airs basketball team is up in the air". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  10. Harvey, Helen (30 September 2019). "Mountainairs need help to get them on court in 2020". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  11. "SPONSOR HELPS MOUNTAINAIRS TO RISE UP". nznbl.basketball. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
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