eliminated by the Melbourne Tigers 2–1. They again made the finals in 1997 but were eliminated in the first round 2-1 by North Melbourne. Financial problems dogged the club in the late 1990s, and the team finally succumbed to its money woes in December 2002. The club managed to play all its remaining games from the 2002–03 NBL season, but were unable to hold on to their star players, including C. J. Bruton, the son of then-coach Cal Bruton, or any imports. Canberra finished with an 11–19 record, and the team was bought by a consortium that moved the team to Newcastle. During the 2002 off-season, the Cannons embarked on a short tour of the United States playing various college teams. On one occasion they played against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center in Lansing. For that game, the Cannons featured former Michigan State player, NBA legend with the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the most decorated players in basketball history, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The game, a celebration of Johnson's induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2002, saw the Cannons defeat the Spartans (who featured future NBL player Adam Ballinger) 104–85 with Magic contributing 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. In April 2022, NBL owner Larry Kestelman flagged Canberra as a potential 11th team. Kestelman says "Canberra could be next in line for a league license, following the same model as the Tasmania JackJumpers". Honour Roll Season by season References External links Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams Defunct sporting clubs in Canberra Basketball teams established in 1979 Basketball teams disestablished in 2003 Basketball teams in the Australian Capital Territory 1979 establishments in Australia 2003 disestablishments in Australia