Continental Basketball League (CBL)
Continental Basketball League logo
SportBasketball
FoundedOctober 30, 2009
No. of teams6
CountryUSA
ContinentFIBA Americas (Americas)
Most recent
champion(s)		Cary Invasion
Most titlesTie: Cary Invasion, Savannah Wildcats (1)
Official websiteContinental Basketball League

The Continental Basketball League (CBL) was a men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2010.[1] The league was headquartered in Florida.[2]

History

In 2009, Dennis Truax, who was previously affiliated with the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), was named the first commissioner of the CBL.[1] Gary Perry, an owner of the Augusta Groove when it was in the Premier Basketball League (PBL), was named the first director of basketball operations.[1]

On November 2, 2009, the Wilmington Sea Dawgs were the first team to announce joining the league.[3] On February 16, 2010, the Carolina Cougarz became the second team to join the CBL.[4] On February 18, 2010, the Savannah Wildcats became the third team in the CBL.[5] and the Georgia Gwizzlies left the ABA to become the fourth.[6] On March 5, 2010, the Birmingham Steel joined the league.[7]

Two weeks into the 2010 season, the Steel left the league for the World Basketball Association (WBA)[8] and was replaced by the Birmingham Sabers[9] On 1 June 2010, the Georgia Gwizzlies were removed from the league for failure to meet operating standards, after having missed games against Birmingham and Wilmington[10]

The league championship in 2010 was to be decided by a single elimination tournament in June.[1] However, after the removal of the Gwizzlies, the schedule and playoff structure were truncated and adjusted. The playoffs became a one game championship between the first and second place teams, the Sea Dawgs and Wildcats respectively, which was won by the Wildcats 96-86 in overtime.

In July 2010 the Florida Flight moved from the WBA to the CBL.[11] In September 2010, the Miami Stars and Palm Beach Titans joined.[12][13] On March 28, 2011, the Heartland Prowl announced they had left the ABA to join the CBL.[14] In the announcement of the Prowl, the absence of the Carolina Cougarz as a listed team coupled with their removal from the CBL website indicated that they had folded.

In April 2011, the Gainesville Galaxy joined.[15] On 13 April 2011, the Cary Invasion was added.[16] Sometime between April and early May, the Fayetteville Crossover was added.[17] Before the 2011 season was to start, the owners of the Savannah Wildcats announced the team would be sitting out the season due to a family matter affecting the owners' ability to lead the team. Shortly after this announcement, the CBL announced the addition of the Port City Sharks as a replacement for the Wildcats in Savannah, Georgia. The league also removed the Miami Stars and the Palm Beach Titans from the team list for the 2011 season. The Port City Sharks failed to play the complete schedule and were replaced in later games by travel teams.

In 2011, the league once again played just a championship game, this time between the winner of the North Division, the Cary Invasion and the South runner-up, the Florida Flight, which was won by the Invasion, 131-101. No official explanation was given why the winner of the South Division, the Heartland Prowl, did not play in the game. The Wilmington Sea Dawgs and the Cary Invasion announced the formation of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and their membership therein, thus leaving the CBL.[18] The Fayetteville Crossover then announced their move to this league as well.[19] The Florida Flight moved to the newly formed Florida Basketball Association, and the Miami Stars and Palm Beach Titans went with them.[20]

In 2012, the Raleigh Rough Riders were added to the league.[21] However, the 2012 season was never played. The league planned to return in the spring of 2013, but a lack of teams prevented that.

Current clubs

Team City Arena Founded First season in CBL
Birmingham Lions Basketball Club Birmingham, Alabama TBD 2012 2013
Georgia Razors Athens, Georgia Clarke Central High School 2012 2013
Raleigh Rough Riders Raleigh, North Carolina BOCC Dream Center 2011 2013
South Florida Stars TBD, Florida TBD 2011 2012
Tampa Bay Saints Tampa, Florida Mary Help of Christians Center 2011 2011

Former teams

Historical membership and alignment

Port City SharksFayetteville CrossoverCary InvasionGainesville GalaxyPalm Beach TitansBirmingham SabersWilmington Sea DawgsSavannah WildcatsGeorgia GwizzliesCarolina Cougarz

Championship results

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Continental Basketball League to start in 2010, Miami Herald, 2009-10-30, retrieved 2009-11-20
  2. ↑ Continental Basketball League Launched, Our Sports Central, 2009-10-30, retrieved 2009-11-20
  3. ↑ Sea Dawgs Join Continental Basketball League, Cape Fear Business News, 2009-11-03, archived from the original on 2013-11-10, retrieved 2009-11-20
  4. ↑ Carolina Cougarz Join the Continental Basketball League, Our Sports Central, 2010-02-16, retrieved 2010-02-18
  5. ↑ Savannah Wildcats Launch, Our Sports Central, 2010-02-18, retrieved 2010-02-18
  6. ↑ Georgia Gwizzlies Head to the CBL, Our Sports Central, 2010-02-18, retrieved 2010-02-18
  7. ↑ Continental Basketball League Announces Birmingham Steel As Newest Franchise, Our Sports Central, 2010-03-05, retrieved 2010-03-05
  8. ↑ Birmingham Steel Become Latest Addition To WBA, Our Sports Central, 2010-05-11, retrieved 2010-05-13
  9. ↑ CBL Announces Ownership Change in Birmingham, Our Sports Central, 2010-05-13, retrieved 2010-05-13
  10. ↑ Georgia Gwizzlies Removed from CBL, Our Sports Central, 2010-06-01, retrieved 2010-06-01
  11. ↑ Flight Headed for Continental Basketball League, Our Sports Central, 2010-07-28, retrieved 2010-07-29
  12. ↑ Miami Stars Join CBL, Our Sports Central, 2010-09-23, retrieved 2010-09-23
  13. ↑ Palm Beach Titans Joining CBL, Our Sports Central, 2010-09-23, retrieved 2010-09-23
  14. ↑ Continental Basketball League Welcomes The Heartland Prowl, Our Sports Central, 2011-03-28, retrieved 2011-03-30
  15. ↑ Gainesville Galaxy Joins Continental Basketball League, Our Sports Central, 2011-04-11, retrieved 2011-04-13
  16. ↑ CBL Adds Cary Invasion for 2011 Season, Our Sports Central, 2011-04-13, retrieved 2011-04-14
  17. ↑ Shambaugh, Jaclyn (2011-05-03), Recreation: The RAC spawns semi-pro basketball team, the Fayetteville Crossover, Fayetteville Observer, retrieved 2011-05-06
  18. ↑ Invasion, Sea Dawgs Join the TRBL, Our Sports Central, 2011-11-18, retrieved 2011-11-21
  19. ↑ Fayetteville Crossover Join TRBL, Our Sports Central, 2011-11-19, retrieved 2011-11-21
  20. ↑ Florida Basketball Association Launching this Summer, Our Sports Central, 2012-01-16, retrieved 2012-01-17
  21. ↑ "Raleigh RoughRiders – Raleigh's pro basketball team kicks off Inaugural Season". Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
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