It "was less a revolution, more a mini renaissance but Champions League Basketball made its debut at Nunawading Stadium during the weekend," according to Roy Ward of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
The group, which plans to become basketball's version of cricket's Big Bash League, enlisted several U18 Victorian Junior Basketball League sides "to play a test event under their new rules."
Bygone practices like jump balls each quarter and "one and one" free throws were noticeable, while the new "moneyball" was introduced for the last two minutes of each quarter.
Once the blue and white moneyball came out three-pointers "became four-pointers and dunks earned three points -- if a player was fouled during attempts at either that player would get the equal amount of free throws." CLB "plans to launch its first competition in May 2017 with teams around the country playing a shortened autumn-winter season."
It "aims to sign Australian and overseas professionals and offer them the extra pay-packets cricketers now enjoy from Twenty20 leagues."
The National Basketball League "has not welcomed the start-up competition but CLB maintains NBL clubs could enter teams in the league and it has not ruled out some form of partnership with the national league should relations thaw" (SMH, 1/17).
