Fresh from a long break enjoying the summer sunshine, local basketball will bring the heat to the Icehouse once again when the South East Coast Basketball League returns this week.

The fun started last night and continues through the week with the senior SECBL competitions the highlight taking centre stage tomorrow night.

The season was put on hold for the best part of two months and a lot has changed since the final whistle of round 9 was heard way back on Wednesday, December 8.

The threat of COVID-19 has increased and Mount Gambier’s Country Basketball League campaigns have been hampered by multiple disruptions.

With coronavirus having hit the community and the local basketball scene particularly hard, organisers along with SA Country and Basketball SA have created a revised return to play plan to cope with the changing environment.

In addition to the criteria outlined by SA Health, people heading to the Icehouse must remember seven key points.

A limit of three spectators per player is permitted, while entry is allowed only 15 minutes before the scheduled time of tip off.

Being an indoor venue, masks are required, while QR code or manual sign ins are required upon entry.

Hands also must be sanitised when entering and leaving Bern Bruning Stadium with social distancing and leaving as soon as possible following the game’s conclusion encouraged.

Basketball Mount Gambier development manager Tom Daly said its important for everyone to follow the rules to ensure as many people can shoot hoops as possible, but admits there could be some showing some hesitancy.

“We got all of the return to play protocols from Basketball SA and SA Country and under the current restrictions we allowed to go ahead with sport,” he said.

“It really comes down to every family and participant because if you play you are at some risk of being a close contact or catching it.

“Given it is out there, but not running rampant, we are going to try to start our competitions this week and see the response we get from players and referees.

“If we run into trouble, we will adjust as things come because we will have to be pretty flexible.

“It could be pretty challenging with teams possibly forfeiting and referee availability becomes difficult.

“The fact that if you play in a game and someone from it returns a positive test, everyone who played are deemed close contacts and have to go through seven days isolation.

“That would be hard for people to miss a week of work, so some could be turned off by that which means we may have lower numbers.

“But I think we have got to get started and see how it goes.

“We will do our best and tick all of the boxes to give people the option to play basketball.”

Referees will not be deemed close contact which makes things slightly easier, but the prospect of some games not taking place due to COVID-19 is very real.

However, an exciting run to the finals is still in store.

Six rounds are left in the SECBL season and the race to the final four is fascinating.

In the men’s competition, the Bulldogs and Panthers have established themselves as the runaway leaders.

Bulldogs led by the highly prolific Simon Berkefeld and Matthew Black are sitting on top of the tree.

The team is flying with five straight wins and will look the cement itself as the premiership favourite in the coming weeks.

Panthers is the nearest challenger being the only team to beat Bulldogs so far this season.

The purple and yellow team boasts names such as former Pioneers Brad Rathjen and Kyle Tipene and managed to overcome Bulldogs by six points in round 4.

However, the side stumbled into the summer break following two consecutive defeats including a shock loss to Cougars and will look to bounce back as a refreshed team hoping to mount a challenge for the minor flag.

Alongside the tight fight for the top, the question of positions three and four is anyone’s guess.

Cougars and Cats are evenly matched with only two premiership points splitting the pair.

Cougars gained the upper hand after knocking over Panthers just before the break and will be keen to continue its momentum, while Cats will be pushing hard.

Saints and Roos are effectively out of the finals race and are in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon with only one win each.

The SECBL women’s competition has been dominated by Cats, but the race for second is reaching top gear.

Only five points separate second and last on the ladder, so the make up of the final four is completely up in the air and may not be decided until the final round.

Cats has been the most consistent team sitting second, but only marginally ahead of Saints and Panthers.

The pair both have three wins each, but Saints probably boasts the more impressive record with less defeats and more importantly being the only team to overcome Cats.

Behind Saints and Panthers waiting for the smallest opportunity to shake things up is Bulldogs Blue, which occupies the bottom, but is only one win away from a finals spot.

It could be tough for Bulldogs Blue to gain much ground with a contest against ladder-leader Cats first up, while Saints and Cougars will play a tight battle at Peter Seebohm Stadium.

In the men’s competition, Panthers take on Roos on court 3, Cats and Bulldogs meet at Millicent, while Cougars and Saints enjoy some action on the main court of the Icehouse.

Both SECBL rounds tip off at 7pm, while the other 17 competitions will be played throughout the week.