1996–97 British Basketball League season

1996–97 British Basketball League season
League	British Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Roll of Honour
BBL champions	Leopards
Play Off's champions	London Towers
National Cup champions	Leopards
BBL Trophy champions	London Towers

The 1996–1997 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the long-awaited return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced Doncaster Panthers following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club.^[1]

The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the Leopards team claiming their first silverware in its franchise history after winning the Budweiser League and Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup double. Their Capital foes, London Towers were equally successful throughout the campaign, clinching the 7 Up Trophy and pipping Leopards to the Play-off title, with a one-point victory in the final at Wembley Arena against their rivals.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. Leopards	56	36	28	8	0.777
2. London Towers	52	36	26	10	0.722
3. Sheffield Sharks	52	36	26	10	0.722
4. Birmingham Bullets	52	36	26	10	0.722
5. Chester Jets	48	36	24	12	0.666
6. Manchester Giants	44	36	22	14	0.611
7. Newcastle Eagles	42	36	21	15	0.583
8. Leicester Riders	30	36	15	21	0.416
9. Derby Storm	28	36	14	22	0.388
10. Thames Valley Tigers	30	36	14	22	0.388
11. Worthing Bears	24	36	12	24	0.333
12. Crystal Palace	10	36	5	31	0.138
13. Hemel & Watford Royals	4	36	2	34	0.055

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

Quarter-finals

(1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders

12 April 1997

Leicester Riders

122–130

Leopards

13 April 1997

Leopards	114–105	Leicester Riders
Leopards wins series, 2–0

(2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles

11 April 1997

Newcastle Eagles

79–91

London Towers

15 April 1997

London Towers

70–80

Newcastle Eagles

20 April 1997

London Towers	96–80	Newcastle Eagles
London wins series, 2–1

(3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants

13 April 1997

Manchester Giants

72–77

Sheffield Sharks

15 April 1997

Sheffield Sharks	74–68	Manchester Giants
Sheffield wins series, 2–0

(4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets

13 April 1997

Chester Jets

86–78

Birmingham Bullets

16 April 1997

Birmingham Bullets

82–72

Chester Jets

18 April 1997

Birmingham Bullets	78–81	Chester Jets
Chester wins series, 2–1

Semi-finals

3 May 1997

Leopards

102–101

Chester Jets

Wembley Arena, London

3 May 1997

London Towers

80–72

Sheffield Sharks

Wembley Arena, London

Final

4 May 1997

Report

London Towers	89–88	Leopards
Pts: Keith Robinson (MVP) 25, Danny Lewis 22, Neville Austin 11, Roger Duhaney, Tony Windless, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch, Karl Brown		Pts: Eric Burks 22, Ronnie Baker 20, Tim Davis 16, Robert Youngblood, John Tresvant, John White

Wembley Arena, London
Attendance: ?
Towers coach Kevin Cadle
Leopards coach Billy Mims

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. Ware Rebels	47	26	21	5	0.808
2. Plymouth Raiders	46	26	20	6	0.769
3. Coventry Crusaders	44	26	18	8	0.692
4. Guildford Swifts	44	26	18	8	0.692
5. Oxford Devils	42	26	16	10	0.615
6. Westminster Warriors	41	26	15	11	0.577
7. Stockton Mohawks	40	26	14	12	0.538
8. Cardiff Phoenix	40	26	14	12	0.538
9. Nottingham Knights	37	26	12	14	0.462
10. Bury and Bolton Wildcats	36	26	11	15	0.423
11. Mid-Sussex Magic	36	26	10	16	0.385
12. Brixton TopCats	33	26	7	19	0.269
13. Liverpool Atac	32	26	6	20	0.231
14. Solent Stars	26	26	0	26	0.000

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Plymouth 118 Ware 106

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. Solihull Chiefs	51	26	25	1	0.962
2. London Towers B	48	26	22	4	0.846
3. Thames Valley Tigers B	46	26	20	6	0.769
4. South Wales SS	43	26	17	9	0.654
5. South Bank Leopards	41	26	15	11	0.577
6. Derby Storm B	41	26	15	11	0.577
7. Slough Chargers	40	26	14	12	0.538
8. Northampton 89'ers	37	26	11	15	0.423
9. Aston Adante	35	26	9	17	0.346
10. Swindon Sonics	34	26	8	18	0.308
11. Flintshire Flyers	34	26	7	19	0.269
12. Chessington Wildcats	34	26	7	19	0.269
13. Sheffield Forgers	31	25	6	19	0.240
14. Bournemouth Dolphins	30	25	5	20	0.200

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Thames Valley 91 Solihull 83

Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth Round

Team 1	Team 2	Score
Manchester Giants	Crystal Palace	91-61
Coventry Crusaders	Sheffield Sharks	56-86
Birmingham Bullets	Hemel & Watford Royals	91-84
Cardiff Phoenix	London Towers	55-95
Ware Rebels	Newcastle Eagles	70-102
Thames Valley Tigers	Derby Storm	80-79
Worthing Bears	Leicester Riders	74-84
Chester Jets	Leopards	103-112

Quarter Finals

Team 1	Team 2	Score
Sheffield Sharks	Leicester Riders	103-98
London Towers	Manchester Giants	83-74
Newcastle Eagles	Birmingham Bullets	99-93
Thames Valley Tigers	Leopards	87-102

Semi Finals

Team 1	Team 2	1st Leg	2nd Leg
Sheffield Sharks	Newcastle Eagles	91-80	75-84
Leopards	London Towers	93-92	72-70

Final

19 January 1997^[2]

Leopards	87–79	Sheffield Sharks
Pts: Eric Burks (MVP) 28, John White 28, Robert Youngblood 16, John Tresvant, Tim Davis, Ronnie Baker		Pts: Roger Huggins 26, Voise Winters 19, Todd Cauthorn, Deon Hames, Isaac Morgan, Ian McKinney, Jason Swaine, Chris Finch

Sheffield Arena
Attendance: ?
Leopards coach Billy Mims
Sheffield coach Jim Brandon

7 Up Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Sheffield Sharks	10	5	5	0	1.000
2.Chester Jets	8	5	4	1	0.800
3.Leicester Riders	4	5	2	3	0.400
4.Manchester Giants	4	5	2	3	0.400
5.Derby Storm	2	5	1	4	0.200
6.Newcastle Eagles	2	5	1	4	0.200

Southern Group

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Leopards	10	5	5	0	1.000
2.Thames Valley Tigers	6	5	3	2	0.600
3.Worthing Bears	6	5	3	2	0.600
4.Birmingham Bullets	6	5	3	2	0.600
5.Crystal Palace	2	5	1	4	0.400
6.Hemel & Watford Royals	0	5	0	5	0.000

Leicester finished ahead of Manchester by having the best head-to-head record between the teams, whilst Birmingham qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record. London received a bye into Quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

Birmingham Bullets vs. Leicester Riders

Birmingham Bullets

77–95

Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders	69–79	Birmingham Bullets
Leicester win on aggregate, 164–156

Leopards vs. London Towers

Leopards

79–111

London Towers

London Towers	92–90	Leopards
London win on aggregate, 203–169

Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets

Thames Valley Tigers

85–91

Chester Jets

Chester Jets	89–89	Thames Valley Tigers
Chester win on aggregate, 180–174

Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks

Worthing Bears

81–83

Sheffield Sharks

Sheffield Sharks	97–85	Worthing Bears
Sheffield win on aggregate, 180–166

Semi-finals

Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders

Chester Jets

92–88

Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders	92–93	Chester Jets
Chester win on aggregate, 185–180

Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers

Sheffield Sharks

75–74

London Towers

London Towers	80–71	Sheffield Sharks
London win on aggregate, 154–146

Final

2 March 1997^[3]

London Towers	67–59	Chester Jets
Pts: Karl Brown (MVP) 16, Neville Austin 14, Danny Lewis 13, Tony Windless 11, Keith Robinson, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch		Pts: Hillary Scott 16, Billy Singleton 15, Ricardo Leonard 11, Russ Saunders 10, Nigel Palmer, Mark Ogley

National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Towers coach Kevin Cadle
Chester coach Mike Burton

Seasonal awards

Most Valuable Player: John White (Leopards)
Coach of the Year: Mike Burton (Chester Jets)
All-Star Team:
- John White (Leopards)
- Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles)
- Eric Burks (Leopards)
- Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets)
- James Hamilton (Worthing Bears)
- Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks)
- Danny Lewis (London Towers)
- Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets)
- Billy Singleton (Chester Jets)
- Voise Winters (Sheffield Sharks)

References

↑ ""Final place in Olympic team goes to Elliott." Times [London, England] 25 June 1996". The Times Digital Archive.
↑ "Nicholas Harling. "Leopards' leap puts them out of reach." Times [London, England] 20 Jan. 1997". The Times Digital Archive.
↑ "Nicholas Harling. "Towers' strength in defence keeps grip on trophy." Times [London, England] 3 Mar. 1997". The Times Digital Archive.

Preceded by 1995–96 season	BBL seasons 1996–97	Succeeded by 1997–98 season

British Basketball League

Bristol Flyers Cheshire Phoenix Glasgow Rocks Leeds Force Leicester Riders London Lions Manchester Giants Newcastle Eagles Plymouth Raiders Sheffield Sharks Surrey Scorchers Worcester Wolves

Competitions	BBL Championship (Play-off Finals) BBL Cup BBL Trophy Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) Women's British Basketball League

Seasons	1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Awards	Individual: Coach of the Year Most Valuable Player Team: British Team of the Year Defensive Team of the Year Team of the Year

Other	BBL TV Expansion British Basketball Union English Basketball League Scottish National League National Cup National Basketball League

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