Basketball On The Internet.

ADELAIDE was trailing by 11 points to Sydney in a 1999-2000 WNBL fixture when Lightning coach Jan Stirling turned to Sally Phillips.

Phillips already had seen action in the match but it was nothing to file in the time capsule.

"There was about 2:30 to go, we're 11 down and it wasn't looking good," Stirling, now Basketball Australia's High Performance and National Teams' general manager said today.

"So I turned to Sally and said just let them fly.

"She went out there and drilled four 3-pointers and we were in front.

"We never expected to win it but we did because she just had the confidence and determination to get the job done."

Confidence and determination are two of the qualities Phillips, 43 and a veteran of 193 WNBL games, brings to her newly-etablished role as "Head of the WNBL".

BA's Competitions Manager, Paul Maley, described the mother of two's appointment as "a real investment" in the WNBL, the league finally again having its own dedicated administrator.

BA has lost the confidence of many of its WNBL clubs, a relationship-repair Phillips sees as vital.

"The top of my list is hitting the ground running and (re)building relationships with the clubs," she said.

ADELAIDE'S FINEST: Former Adelaide 36er Paul Maley introduces former Adelaide Lightning guard Sally Phillips, with ex-Adelaide Lightning coach Jan Stirling. Adelaide Rules!! (OK. No emails pls. Was only kidding. Know Males and Sal aren't really from Adelaide. They're not that lucky.)

Naismith knows, the WNBL long has needed someone who can keep their eyes on the ball.

“Every team is in agreement the two most important priorities are continuing to grow revenue and gain financial sustainability for each club and to lift the visibility of the league,” Maley said.

“To do that, the most important first step was to add somebody with knowledge of the landscape, passion for the sport and a skill sit and experience in commercial and the marketing side of sports admin.

“That’s what we found in Sally who is the complete package.”

Phillips has been working for Dandenong Basketball as its commercial  operations manager and is an outstanding administrator.

Her appointment is one of the most popular and anticipated in more than a decade of treading water for a league both Phillips and Maley like to claim as the world's second best.

(Good thing Euroleague trolls don't read our propaganda.)

“We’ve got some of the world’s best basketball athletes running around and they’re accessible," Phillips said, citing the fact some 30 Aussies already have been through the WNBA.

“Kids can actually get down to meet the players, meet their role models.

“You can get up close and personal with some of the world’s best."

As for television with a free-to-air or even pay-TV network, BA remains in talks but Phillips says there are other options to explore, such as digital platforms.

Phillips initially played WNBL with the AIS, then Bulleen before joining Dandenong for the bulk of her career. In 1999-2000 she switched to the Lightning, living in Adelaide and maintaining a long distance relationship with her husband.

“We actually snared her over to Adelaide where her passion and desire to get in an environment in which she could excel as an athlete and to improve herself spoke volumes about her dedication and passion," Stirling said.

“She did the long-distance relationship with her husband and I think her dedication to get out there and achieve something is second-to-none."

Phillips starts formally on August 29 but she can see the breadth and challenge of the job ahead and is more than ready for it.

Just like she was in 2000 when there was only 2:30 left to play and all seemed lost.