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Halifax Rainmen

The Halifax Rainmen were a professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the Atlantic Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) and their home games took place at the Scotiabank Centre, formerly known as the Halifax Metro Centre. Andre Levingston was the owner of the Rainmen since he helped establish the team in 2006. The team played their first season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, after becoming unhappy with the ABA, they moved to the Premier Basketball League (PBL) for the next three seasons. In 2011, they joined the NBL Canada as one of the original seven teams. Despite showing success in the four seasons they spent in the Canadian league, making two Finals appearances, the Rainmen filed for bankruptcy in July 2015. The team was coming off a controversial loss in the 2015 NBL Canada Finals against the Windsor Express and forfeited Game 7 after taking part in a pre-game brawl. The Halifax Hurricanes, with a larger ownership group than the Rainmen's single owner, replaced the Rainmen in NBL Canada for the 2015–16 season.

The American Basketball Association announced on August 23, 2006, that Halifax, Nova Scotia, had been granted an expansion franchise for the 2007–08 season. A local contest was later held among fans to help name the team, and on December 19, 2006, the organization unveiled that they would be known as the Halifax Rainmen.

The Rainmen hosted the 2007 ABA All-Star Game ten months before the team started play. Joe Newman, the league's chairman, figured it would be an excellent way to promote Canadian expansion.

On May 30, 2007, the team announced their home venue, the Halifax Metro Centre, and head coach, Kevin MaBone. Mabone later stepped down due to a family illness and was replaced as head coach by Rick Lewis. Shannon Hansen and Daniel Freiberg joined Lewis on the coaching staff as assistants.

The Rainmen's first two player signings were Peter Benoite and Chad Eichelberger. Benoite was a former CIS standout for the Memorial Sea-Hawks, and is currently the Sea-Hawks head coach.

Days before their first game, the Rainmen announced the signing of star Canadian guard Jermaine Anderson, a veteran member of the Canadian National basketball team.

The Rainmen played their inaugural season in the Northeast Division of the Blue Conference in the American Basketball Association. The team won its first-ever game on November 15, 2007 at the Metro Center, against the Boston Blizzard by a score of 136-103, in front of 4,343 fans. Halifax went on to lose seven straight before their next win, against the Montreal Royal. The Rainmen ended the season with a record of 12 wins and 20 losses.

Eric Crookshank led the Rainmen during the season, averaging 20.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was also named to the All-ABA first team. Crookshank and Brian Silverhorn were both chosen to represent the Rainmen at the 2008 ABA All-Star Weekend, in Vermont. Halifax lead the American Basketball Association in attendance during the year.

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