Canberra Capitals retain WNBL season-opening win in boost for finals bid

Capitals coach Paul Goriss was banned for a month and referee Simon Cosier rubbed out for the season for an integrity breach which sent the league into a spin in December.

Cosier had supplied Goriss with seven clips of a Flames pre-season scrimmage which was initially intended for referee education purposes, before the Capitals beat Sydney in their season opener.

An independent panel said the Capitals had gained no advantage and deemed the sanctions appropriate before Basketball Australia lodged an appeal.

An appeals tribunal on January 17 ruled the Capitals "obtained an actual advantage from the misconduct of its head coach Paul Goriss", before adjourning to hold a supplementary hearing on February 1.

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Representatives from both clubs were present and invited to make submissions as the tribunal considered whether the advantage obtained was sufficient to disqualify or reverse the result of the game.

The tribunal held unanimously "a reversal of the result should not be imposed as it would exceed that which is reasonably and proportionately required to punish the offences committed".

By majority, the tribunal "cannot be comfortably satisfied that the advantage gained by the Capitals because of the misconduct of Mr Goriss was of such materiality and influence that it justifies the disqualification of the outcome of the game".

The result means the Capitals will not lose their round one win, in a massive boost with the top four to be decided by win percentage, with games now at a persistent risk of being cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Goriss will be relieved to finally bury the incident and focus on the task at hand: leading the Capitals to a 10^th championship, and their third in four seasons.

The Capitals face the Southside Flyers at the National Convention Centre on Saturday.

The in-form hosts will be bolstered by the return of Jade Melbourne from Opals camp, while their rivals will lose former Capitals duo Maddison Rocci and Kristy Wallace, as well as Sara Blicavs.

Wallace's call-up to the Opals squad caps off a stirring comeback after successive anterior cruciate ligament tears ruined her time in Canberra and left some fearing one of the nation's most talented prospects would walk away from the sport.

"Knowing what she has gone through, I coached her back in the COE when she was 17 so I've had a long history with her," Goriss said. "I'm just really happy for her that she is number one, healthy, and number two, back playing basketball and WNBL. I'm really excited for her. She's growing in stature and confidence in each game that she plays in the WNBL and I'm really happy for her."

Wallace spent nine months on the sidelines and returned for Canberra during the 2018-19 season. Two days later she tore her ACL again and faced a long road back via NBL1.

"It's truly incredible," Wallace said. "My basketball journey has been a long one, full of highs and lows so I'm just really happy to be playing consistent basketball again and to have this opportunity."

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