Nine years after winning a championship with the Brisbane Bullets, the Launceston-born point guard is back at the re-formed franchise after stints with South Dragons, Gold Coast Blaze and Adelaide 36ers.

Gibson is excited to take part in the Australian Basketball Challenge, the NBL’s new-look pre-season tournament which also involves two Chinese teams.

“We’ve had a couple of promising practice games but to be able to play against NBL sides in Brisbane for the first time in eight years will be very special – hopefully there will be a big crowd there to cheer us on,” Gibson said.

“Teams won’t be at their full potential – three games in four days is always tough – we’ll keep our cards close to our chest as will other teams.

“It’s a good chance to go against three teams we haven’t played yet and see how we adjust.”

The Bullets were due to play Zhejiang Golden Bulls on Friday night when Perth Wildcats were up against another Chinese outfit, Tianjin Ronggang Gold Lions, and while Burnie’s Matt Knight is out with a shoulder injury, his replacement is Launceston’s Lucas Walker.

In other developments for the sport in the state, Basketball Tasmania has met with the Launceston senior and junior leagues to formulate a new structure in the city.

A steering committee completed an in-depth review and recommended the creation of a general manager for the Launceston Basketball Association position, which BTas is seeking applications for.

The basketball community is also encouraged to provide feedback through an online survey on the BTas website.

Some 140 teams took part in junior tournaments this year with the following champions/runners-up: Under-18 boys Division 1 City of Launceston, Burnie; Div2 Trojans Launceston, Penguin; girls Div1 Penguin, Ulverstone; Div2 Japara Launceston, Southern Wolves; U16 boys Div1 Southern Wolves, Kingborough-Huon; Div2 Ulverstone, Moonah Revellers; girls Div1 Ulverstone, Devils Launceston; U14 boys Div1 Japara Launceston, Burnie; Div2 Smithton, Wynyard; girls Div1 Ulverstone, Devonport; Div2 Somerset, Lauderdale Grenadiers; U12 boys Div1 City of Launceston, Penguin; Div2 Deloraine, Smithton; girls Div1 Ulverstone, Burnie; Div2 Penguin, Latrobe; U11 boys Div1 Devils Launceston; City of Launceston; U10 boys Div1 City of Launceston, Penguin; Div2 Devonport, Saints Launceston; girls Div1 Devonport, Ulverstone; Div2 Burnie, Ulverstone.