1997–98 British Basketball League season explained

1997–98 BBL season
League:British Basketball League
Sport:Basketball
Playoffs:Roll of Honour
Conf1:BBL
Conf1 Champ:Greater London Leopards
Conf2:Play Off's
Conf2 Champ:Birmingham Bullets
Conf3:National Cup
Conf3 Champ:Thames Valley Tigers
Conf4:BBL Trophy
Conf4 Champ:Sheffield Sharks
Seasonslist:List of British Basketball League seasons
Seasonslistnames:British Basketball League
Prevseason Year:1996–97
Nextseason Year:1998–99

The 1997–98 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured the same 13 teams as the previous year, playing 36 games each. The only change saw the Hemel Royals renamed the Watford Royals.

Greater London Leopards clinched their second successive Budweiser League title only by virtue of an overtime win in their final game of the season against Sheffield Sharks. Leopards' 102–106 victory in Sheffield meant they finished level on points with title-rivals Birmingham Bullets, but were crowned Champions due to a better head-to-head record over the Midlands team. Birmingham gained some consolation by taking their second Play-off Championship in three years at Wembley Arena, beating off a tough challenge from Thames Valley Tigers, winning 78–75. The Thames Valley Tigers won the National Cup and the Sheffield claimed their first uni-ball Trophy with an 82–79 win over London Towers at the National Exhibition Centre.

London Towers represented the Budweiser League in European competition, participating in the EuroCup.

Notable occurrences

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1 Greater London Leopards36 29 7 0.80658
2 Birmingham Bullets36 29 7 0.80658
3 Newcastle Eagles36 25 11 0.69450
4 Sheffield Sharks36 25 11 0.69450
5 Thames Valley Tigers36 24 12 0.66748
6 London Towers36 23 13 0.63846
7 Derby Storm36 16 20 0.44432
8 Manchester Giants36 15 21 0.41630
9 Leicester Riders36 15 21 0.41630
10 Chester Jets36 15 21 0.41630
11 Crystal Palace36 8 28 0.22216
12 Worthing Bears36 7 29 0.19414
13 Watford Royals36 3 33 0.0836
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

Quarter-finals

(1) Greater London Leopards vs. (8) Manchester Giants

(2) Birmingham Bullets vs. (7) Derby Storm

(3) Newcastle Eagles vs. (6) London Towers

(4) Sheffield Sharks vs. (5) Thames Valley Tigers

Final

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1 Richmond Jaguars22 20 2 0.95840
2 Plymouth Raiders22 19 3 0.86438
3 Stevenage Rebels22 16 6 0.72732
4 Teesside Mohawks22 14 8 0.63628
5 Solihull Chiefs22 13 9 0.59226
6 Coventry Crusaders22 13 9 0.59226
7 Guildford Pumas22 10 12 0.45520
8 Oxford Devils22 9 13 0.40918
9 Westminster Warriors22 6 16 0.27312
10 Cardiff Phoenix22 4 18 0.1828
11 Mid-Sussex Magic22 4 18 0.1828
12 Brixton TopCats22 4 18 0.1828
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

Semi-finals

Final

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1 Solent Stars24 23 1 0.96246
2 Cardiff Clippers24 20 4 0.83340
3 London Towers II24 19 5 0.79338
4 South Bank University Bulls24 14 10 0.58328
5 Bournemouth Dolphins24 14 10 0.58328
6 Wolverhampton24 12 12 0.50024
7 Flintshire Flyers24 11 13 0.45822
8 Northampton 89ers24 10 14 0.41720
9 Slough Chargers24 9 15 0.37518
10 Liverpool Atac24 9 15 0.37518
11 Swindon Sonics24 9 15 0.37518
12 Chessington Wildcats24 5 19 0.20810
13 Thames Valley Tigers II24 1 23 0.0422
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

Semi-finals

Final

Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth round

width=240Team 1width=240Team 2width=60Score
106-102
67-91
Manchester Giants60-93
94-76
99-90
85-70
77-99

Quarter-finals

width=240Team 1width=240Team 2width=60Score
66-69
75-67
111-80
97-89

Semi-finals

width=240Team 1width=240Team 2width=601st Legwidth=602nd Leg
63-55 63-70
76-74 84-90

Final

uni-ball Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Newcastle Eagles65320.600
2.Leicester Riders65320.600
3.Manchester Giants65320.600
4.Sheffield Sharks45230.400
5.Chester Jets45230.400
6.Derby Storm45230.400

Southern Group

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Gtr. London Leopards105501.000
2.Thames Valley Tigers65320.600
3.Birmingham Bullets65320.600
4.Watford Royals45230.400
5.Crystal Palace45230.400
6.Worthing Bears05050.000

Sheffield finished ahead of Chester and Derby by having the best record in matches between the three teams and qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record ahead of Watford on basket difference. London Towers received a bye into Quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

Greater London Leopards vs. Thames Valley Tigers

London Towers vs. Manchester Giants

Newcastle Eagles vs. Birmingham Bullets

Sheffield Sharks vs. Leicester Riders

Semi-finals

London Towers vs. Newcastle Eagles

Sheffield Sharks vs. Greater London Leopards

Final

Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game

Northern All-Stars
Player width=200Team
John AmaechiSheffield Sharks
Leicester Riders
Manchester Giants
Leicester Riders
Chester Jets
Derby Storm
Sheffield Sharks
Newcastle Eagles
Newcastle Eagles
Mark Boyd Newcastle Eagles
Sheffield Sharks
Leicester Riders
Coach
Craig Lynch Newcastle Eagles
Southern All-Stars
Player width=200Team
Birmingham Bullets
Greater London Leopards
Greater London Leopards
Thames Valley Tigers
Thames Valley Tigers
Crystal Palace
London Towers
Worthing Bears
Birmingham Bullets
London Towers
Greater London Leopards
Watford Royals
Coach
Greater London Leopards

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerStat
Points per game Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) 26.09
Rebounds per game Makeba Perry (Greater London Leopards) 11.81
Assists per game Cleave Lewis (Watford Royals) 5.78
Steals per game Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) 3.11
Blocks per game Brendan Graves (Derby Storm) 2.77

Seasonal awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mark Woods . Leopards are the Champions . 1998 . 2012-12-07 . BritBall .

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