1996–97 British Basketball League season
1996–97 BBL season | ||
---|---|---|
League | National Cup champions Leopards | |
BBL Trophy champions | London Towers |
The 1996–97 BBL season was known as the
The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leopards
|
36 | 28 | 8 | 0.778 | 56 |
2 | London Towers | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
3 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
4 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
5 | Chester Jets
|
36 | 24 | 12 | 0.667 | 48 |
6 | Manchester Giants
|
36 | 22 | 14 | 0.611 | 44 |
7 | Newcastle Eagles | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
8 | Leicester Riders | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0.416 | 30 |
9 | Derby Storm | 36 | 14 | 22 | 0.389 | 28 |
10 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 14 | 22 | 0.389 | 28 |
11 | Worthing Bears
|
36 | 12 | 24 | 0.333 | 24 |
12 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 5 | 31 | 0.138 | 10 |
13 | Hemel & Watford Royals
|
36 | 2 | 34 | 0.055 | 4 |
= League winners | |
= Qualified for the play-offs |
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
(1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders
(2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles
(3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants
(4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets
Semi-finals
Final
4 May 1997
|
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 |
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ware Rebels
|
26 | 21 | 5 | 0.808 | 47 |
2 | Plymouth Raiders | 26 | 20 | 6 | 0.769 | 46 |
3 | Coventry Crusaders | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.693 | 44 |
4 | Guildford Swifts | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.693 | 44 |
5 | Oxford Devils | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0.615 | 42 |
6 | Westminster Warriors | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
7 | Stockton Mohawks
|
26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
8 | Cardiff Phoenix | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
9 | Nottingham Knights | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0.462 | 37 |
10 | Bury & Bolton Wildcats | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0.423 | 36 |
11 | Mid-Sussex Magic | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0.385 | 36 |
12 | Brixton TopCats | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
13 | Liverpool Atac | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0.231 | 32 |
14 | Solent Stars | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0.000 | 26 |
= League winners | |
= Qualified for the play-offs |
Playoffs
Semi-finals
20 April 1997
|
Ware Rebels |
83–77 | Oxford Devils |
Final
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Solihull Chiefs | 26 | 25 | 1 | 0.962 | 51 |
2 | London Towers II | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0.846 | 48 |
3 | Thames Valley Tigers II | 26 | 20 | 6 | 0.769 | 46 |
4 | South Wales SS | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0.654 | 43 |
5 | South Bank Leopards | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
6 | Derby Storm II | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.578 | 41 |
7 | Slough Chargers | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 40 |
8 | Northampton 89ers | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0.423 | 37 |
9 | Aston Adante | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0.346 | 35 |
10 | Swindon Sonics | 26 | 8 | 18 | 0.308 | 34 |
11 | Flintshire Flyers | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
12 | Chessington Wildcats
|
26 | 7 | 19 | 0.269 | 33 |
13 | Sheffield Forgers | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0.231 | 31 |
14 | Bournemouth Dolphins | 26 | 5 | 21 | 0.192 | 30 |
= League winners | |
= Qualified for the play-offs |
Playoffs
Final
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 |
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
Leopards vs. London Towers
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets
Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks
Semi-finals
Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders
Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers
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: Leopards)
- Coach of the Year: Chester Jets)
- All-Star Team:
- Leopards)
- Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles)
- Leopards)
- Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets)
- Worthing Bears)
- Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks)
- Danny Lewis (London Towers)
- Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets)
- 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 January 1997". The Times Digital Archive.
- ^ "Nicholas Harling. "Towers' strength in defence keeps grip on trophy." Times [London, England] 3 March 1997". The Times Digital Archive.