KALAMUNDA Eastern Suns men’s and women’s State Basketball League teams are confident of climbing the SBL ladder this season ahead of their first home games this Saturday against the Perry Lakes Hawkes.
Former Virginia Commonwealth University player Rob Brandenburg will join the men’s team from Spain in early May.
But dynamic guard Courtney Belger returns to the Suns line up from Germany.
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READ NOWBelger played 14 times for the Suns last season, averaging more than 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
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Men’s coach Michael Clarke is confident his new players will combine well with some exciting local talent.
“In Suns basketball, everybody plays and scores – just look at our team statistics,” he said.
“We take pride in playing our way, with plenty of local people. We are not beholden to the traditional way of doing things. I believe that long-term success must come from within and that players do not develop much by sitting on the bench and watching others play.”
The men’s team won six of their last 15 games and were the league’s third-highest scorers.
The Suns women’s team hope to make the finals after narrowly missing out in 2016.
Their prospects will be boosted with the injection of imports Jennie Rintala and Devanny King.
Tom Knowles has been appointed coach.
“We’ve tried to put together a group that can hopefully play at a pretty high tempo which is the game style I’ll be implementing,” he said. “I tried to get pieces that are going to fit into that and I think we’ve done that.”
Both Suns teams will take to the court donning new-look kit.