Mount Gambier Pioneers’ debut NBL1 South season cut short by Covid-19

The Mount Gambier Pioneers have been sidelined again as Covid-19 calls time on it’s debut season. But the club has “no regrets” joining an interstate league.

It was a long time coming but the Mount Gambier Pioneers’ debut season – in a competition regarded as only second to the National Basketball League – has been cut short by Covid-19.

The Pioneers faced a hard slog to gain entry to the NBL1 South, with the club originally denied a spot when it replaced the disbanded South East Australian Basketball League, only for the 2020 season to be canned.

Finals hopes have been dashed for Mount Gambier Pioneers men’s team as the NBL1 South season is called off. Picture: Mount Gambier Pioneers / Facebook

NBL1 general manager Dean Anglin announced the 2021 season had suffered a similar fate on Wednesday.

“Despite working tirelessly with our clubs to try and find a way to complete the season in a safe manner, the extension of restrictions in Victoria and travel restrictions imposed on our Tasmanian clubs, the Mount Gambier Pioneers and Albury-Wodonga Bandits has forced us to make the difficult decision to cancel the season,” he said.

The evolving Victorian outbreak had sidelined the Pioneers for the past six weeks, putting the competition in “serious doubt”.

President Tom Kosch however had remained hopeful the men’s side would play in a modified finals campaign.

“Given the ongoing restrictions and border closures for interstate clubs, there’s just no physical way that there will be a completion to the 2021 season with a final series,” he said.

Despite challenges faced competing interstate, he said there were no regrets joining the league and expected the club’s future to remain across the border.

“It’s definitely been worth it,” he said.

“Covid wasn’t even a thing when we were accepted into the NBL1 competition, unfortunately, these events in our world are out of our control.

Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s team lined up for 13 matches before Covid-19 derailed the NBL1 South season. Picture: Mount Gambier Pioneers / Facebook

“It has been unfortunate that our first season has ended in this way but the benefits of us being represented in NBL1 South is a huge positive for our community and our basketball club.

“We hope that the climate is a fair bit different by the time next season comes around, but we can’t be sure of any of this.”

The move pushed the club to introduce a women’s program creating a pathway for female athletes.

“The addition of our women’s program has made a huge community benefit to aspiring local basketballers within our region,” Kosch said.

“We’re playing in a competition that’s exposed to national level athletes, some of them were competing in Tokyo for the Olympic Games … to be able to expose our young local talent to that level of competition is hugely exciting for us.”

Ahead of the season, men’s coach Richard Hill said the club was in a rebuilding phase and albeit shorter than expected.

Kosch said the 2021 had done exactly that with the 2022 squad looking strong.

“It definitely has been an opportunity to bring in some new blood from Adelaide, and it’s been an opportunity to expose a number of different and new players to Mount Gambier and our basketball program,” he said.

“We’re hugely positive about the steps that they’ve made in the early part of the year, unfortunately, obviously 13 games out of a possible 22 is not really all of what we hoped to achieve.”