The Dragons will become the twelfth NBL team and will follow-on from the addition of the Newcastle-based Hunter Pirates and the New Zealand Breakers who joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season.

“In choosing the name, we looked at the competitive set which consisted mostly of animals and decided that being a Dragon was not only a more powerful being than a Wildcat or a Crocodile but importantly in a one-on-one battle with a King or a Tiger a Dragon would win every time.“

Geographically, the Dragons are the southernmost NBL franchise, not only within Ausralia but within the entire Asia-Pacific region.

“We want to represent the whole state as opposed to an individual city,“ added Cowan.

“Our fixture will include a number of regional games and we want to ensure that our regionally-based fans aren’t isolated by our name.“

With a predominantly black college-style home strip and a white away strip, the Dragons will be the second Melbourne-based franchise alongside the Melbourne Tigers.

Melbourne-based teams have traditionally enjoyed a colourful home-town rivalry, an on-court battle that co-owner Mark Cowan believes will be reborn in season 2006/07.

“I’m looking forward to providing Victorians with great home-town derbys once again.

“What better a spectacle for Australian basketball than to have the Dragons and Tigers face-off at Vodafone Arena,“ added Cowan.

The South Dragons expect to name a head coach by early February, with a formal interview process scheduled for mid-January. Once a coach is announced, the Dragons will begin the task of building a playing roster.

The Dragons will also officially announce a training base over the next two months.