Basketball On The Internet.

BASKETBALL boomed in 1993, the game's GOAT Michael Jordan in a national poll declared Australia's most popular athlete, the sport glowing in the aftermath of the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics, the NBL growing with the addition of the Suns in Townsville. 

Townsville's admission came on the back of its State Basketball League (Now NBL1 North) championship success 40 years ago, that anniversary of the eventual NBL club and a reunion of its many members slated for Saturday, October 17.

Get in early for your tickets, especially if you live locally and supported this once mighty club. Just hit this link for further details: sunscrocsreunion

If you came in late and never saw the Suns - who changed their nickname to the Crocodiles in 1998  - in NBL action, you missed one of the greatest high points in the league's often chequered history.

The club's inaugural NBL team in 1993 was Paul Simpson, Peter Pollock, David Blades, Tonny Jensen, Jason Cameron, Darren Smith (no, not that one), Brian Andrews, Graham Kubank, Keiron Mitchelhill and Lucas Agrams. 

Ricky Jones was the club's first American import, with many excellent ones to follow. But already showing its lateral thinking, Townsville's import partner for Jones was European superstar Rimas Kurtinaitis.

Thinking outside the box much?

Lithuanian-born Kurtinaitis toured Australia in 1987 and again in 1988 with the powerful USSR team, the Soviets winning every match over the young Boomers and allowing us to see first-hand Euroleague superstars such as Aleksandr Volkov, Sarunas Marciulionis and the great Arvydas Sabonis - the blueprint for Nikola Jokic.

Marciulionis and Sabonis both eventually had NBA careers, the latter only playing late in his career.

Kurtinaitis in 1989 became the first European and non-league participant invited to compete in the NBA's 3-Point Shoot-Out as part of its annual All Star Game weekend extravaganza.

That was after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, where he was a key member of the Soviet team which won the Gold Medal after beating the USA - featuring David Robinson, Dan Majerle, Danny Manning, Mitch Richmond, Stacey Augmon, JR Reid and Charles Smith - 82-76 in a classic semi final.

The upset of the tournament, Kurtinaitis led all scorers with 28 points, the Soviets then continuing on to win the Gold Medal, beating Yugoslavia 76-63 in the Final. 

Australia, which improved so much during the two Soviet tours, still was no match for the infuriated Americans in the Bronze Medal game but the Olympic results meant the world had caught up and the USA no longer could send its college kids to do men's work.

Indirectly then, Kurtinaitis and Co created the scenario for the birth of the USA's Dream Team which smashed all before it at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where Townsville's inaugural import finally could play for his native Lithuania which then won the Bronze Medal.

It would duplicate that feat in Atlanta in 1996, beating the Boomers.

In his season with the Suns, Kurtinaitis averaged 24.6ppg, 2.5apg, 5.1rpg and 1.7 spg and was a major drawcard.

Townsville won only four games in its 1993 debut and its first road win came, as it often did for league new faces, at the expense of the Adelaide 36ers.

Here is my match report from that fateful win on June 25, 1993, bearing in mind it was written for a South Aussie audience.

SUN SINKS ON SIXERS HOPES

The Townsville Suns enjoyed their historic first NBL road win at the Clipsal Powerhouse last night and in the process may have consigned Adelaide to the 1993 Mitsubishi Challenge scrapheap.

The aggressive and committed Suns took the lead 105-103 when unstoppable Rimas Kurtinaitis scored from an offensive rebound 20 seconds from game time.

After a time-out, 36ers coach Don Monson subbed in Brett Maher, who, alongside Mike McKay, Phil Smyth and Scott Ninnis, gave him four three-point shooters and Mark Davis to play out the drama.

Adelaide worked the ball for the best shot but McKay, who had been the Super Sixers' most consistent player in a dreadfully erratic team performance, missed badly, The ball fell back to Maher who quickly launched another ill-fated attempt, the final buzzer ringing in his ears.

The Townsville players and bench erupted in jubilant scenes, the battling rookie franchise turning on an honest 48-minute effort that ultimately paid the most handsome reward.

Townsville was 12 points in the hole at three-quarter time, trailing 78-90, but steadily pegged back the not-so-Super Sixers to steal the lead 103-101 with 1:57 left on a Ricky Jones three.

McKay's jumpshot 16 seconds later tied up the game but his basket was significant because referee Sean Fanning fouled out new 36ers import David Robinson (not that one) on the same play.

That Robinson did not let his frustration at the call and the game get the better of him, is a tribute to the young pivot. That he stood up to exhort the crowd and his new team home revealed the nature of the man - the Sixers have a winner on their hands.

It's a shame then that his teammates played like such losers from the opening tip. Well, not losers exactly - just a team which underestimated its opponent and did not give it the respect it deserved.

Adelaide surrendered 34 points in the first quarter to lead 35-34 at the first break, its commitment to defence largely illusory. Even Darren Smith, the former Woodville State league sub, came off the Suns bench to score!

This was a team that wanted to play against a team which figured it just needed to show up. Adelaide's chance to send a statement across the league instead turned into a stutter.

Kurtinaitis, who finished with 41 points at 62 per cent, carved up Smyth and Maher. It also was evident that anyone Ninnis was to guard had instructions to drive on him.

And they did. Successfully.

Davis went back to his old style of NBL defence - you know the one. If my player scores 20, I score 21.

As it happened, Davis had 21 points at half-time while Jones, his opposite number, had 15. Jones would finish with 26 points and 12 rebounds while Davis added just one point to his tally to finish with 22 and 17 boards.

Robinson, who spent the first half ignored in the Sixers offence - can you believe his teammates could not spot a 208cm target? - did well to muster 10 points at 50 per cent, his game totally hamstrung by foul trouble.

Maher and Chris Blakemore came off the bench to offer legitimate resistance but had too many teammates worried about non-calls or poor calls - the way players who are not focused generally behave.

Offensively, only McKay came to play, his 27 points scored at 56 per cent, his tally including 6-of-7 three-pointers.

To Townsville's eternal credit, it just plugged away, doing the right things, working for good shots and finding Kurtinaitis or Jones as an inside-outside punch that steadily worked Adelaide over before delivering the knock-out thump.

THERE are many more stories to tell of the club's NBL grand final, its Loggins-Bruton Cup success and much much more. Keep an eye out for Part 2, coming soon! And in the meantime...

Forty years ago, Townsville’s triumph in the State Basketball League inspired a bid by Mark Bragg to secure a National Basketball League team for the city.

In 1993 the Townsville Suns debuted in the NBL and in 1998 the team changed its name to Townsville Crocodiles.

The club brought together dedicated board members, coaches and officials, talented players, loyal and passionate supporters, and an entire community. This reunion is a chance to reconnect with old friends, relive unforgettable moments including the 1986 State Basketball League grand final, and celebrate the halcyon days when the team sold out 69 games straight at The Swamp.

A team of Suns/Crocodiles enthusiasts, including inaugural board member Russell Laird, former player Shane Froling, former Townsville Basketball president John Geaney, Crocs mascot Shaun Williams, Townsville basketball icon Bernie Lannigan, and former Townsville Bulletin sports editor and marketing manager Doug Kingston have organised a not-for-profit reunion, to be held at The Ville Resort & Casino, Townsville on Saturday, 17 October 2026 from 4pm-7pm.

Join former Townsville Suns/Crocodiles board members, coaches, players, officials and fans in this special celebration by registering today.