2008–09 British Basketball League season explained

2008–09 BBL season
League:British Basketball League
Sport:Basketball
Playoffs:Roll of Honour
Conf1:BBL
Conf1 Champ:Newcastle Eagles
Conf2:Play Off's
Conf2 Link:ß
Conf2 Champ:Newcastle Eagles
Conf3:BBL Cup
Conf3 Champ:Everton Tigers
Conf4:BBL Trophy
Conf4 Champ:Newcastle Eagles
Seasonslist:List of British Basketball League seasons
Seasonslistnames:British Basketball League
Prevseason Year:2007–08
Nextseason Year:2009–10

The 2008–09 BBL season was the 22nd campaign in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL), which commenced on 14 September 2008 with the Cup Winners' Cup. The regular season began a week later with 12 teams competing, though a line-up change saw the Birmingham Panthers withdraw and fold during close season and the inclusion of Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League.

Newcastle Eagles continued their dominance of Britain's basketball scene, scooping up the League title, the Play-off crown and the BBL Trophy, beating rivals Guildford Heat 71-83 at the Guildford Spectrum. After a promising rookie season for Everton Tigers in 2007–08, the Merseyside team came of age in their sophomore year, finishing as runners-up in the League and the play-offs whilst entering the record books for their 103-49 win in the BBL Cup Final against Plymouth Raiders, the biggest winning margin (54 points) in BBL history and lowest ever score conceded in a Final.[1]

This season also saw the return of the BBL All-Star game, which was played as a warm-up to the play-off Grand Final. Two select-teams – the British All-Stars and the Rest of the World All-Stars – were pitted together using a selection of players from across the League, with the Rest of the World team narrowly winning 117-124.

Teams

width=25%Teamwidth=19%City/Areawidth=29%Arenawidth=12%Capacitywidth=15%Last season
Cheshire JetsChesterNorthgate Arena1,00011th
Everton TigersLiverpoolEcho Arena &
Greenbank Sports Academy		7,513
600		7th
Guildford HeatGuildfordGuildford Spectrum1,1002nd
Leicester RidersLeicesterJohn Sandford Centre80010th
London CapitalLondonCapital City Academy3009th
Milton Keynes LionsMilton KeynesBletchley Centre8004th
Newcastle EaglesNewcastle upon TyneMetro Radio Arena6,5001st
Plymouth RaidersPlymouthPlymouth Pavilions1,4803rd
Scottish RocksGlasgowKelvin Hall1,2005th
Sheffield SharksSheffieldEnglish Institute of Sport1,2006th
Worcester WolvesWorcesterUniversity of Worcester6008th
Worthing ThunderWorthingWorthing Leisure Centre1,000New

Notable occurrences

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Newcastle Eagles332850.84856
2Everton Tigers332490.72748
3Leicester Riders3321120.63642
4Guildford Heat3321120.63642
5Plymouth Raiders3320130.60640
6Sheffield Sharks3316170.48532
7Scottish Rocks3316170.48532
8Cheshire Jets3315180.45430
9Milton Keynes Lions3314190.42428
10Worcester Wolves3311220.33322
11Worthing Thunder3310230.30320
12London Capital332310.0604
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

Final

Cup Winners' Cup

The Cup Winners' Cup was contested between the winners of the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy from the previous season. Guildford were winners of the Trophy and Milton Keynes were winners of the Cup. The tournament was played over two-legs – one at each home arena – and the winner decided by a total aggregate score from both games.

Second leg

Guildford Heat win 159-149 on aggregate scoring.

EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1 Reading Rockets18 18 0 1.00036
2 Manchester Magic18 15 3 0.83330
3 London Leopards18 12 6 0.66724
4 City of Sheffield Arrows18 10 8 0.55620
5 Bristol Academy Flyers18 9 9 0.50018
6 Coventry Crusaders18 8 10 0.44416
7 Tees Valley Mohawks18 8 10 0.44416
8 Derby Trailblazers18 5 13 0.27810
9 Cardiff Celts18 3 15 0.1676
10 Taunton Tigers18 2 16 0.1114
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1 Leeds Carnegie22 18 4 0.81836
2 London Mets22 17 5 0.77334
3 Leicester Warriors22 15 7 0.68230
4 Birmingham A's22 14 8 0.63628
5 Kent Crusaders22 13 9 0.59126
6 Team Northumbria22 12 10 0.54524
7 Plymouth Raiders II22 10 12 0.45520
8 Newi Nets22 10 12 0.45520
9 Colchester Hornets22 8 14 0.36416
10 Plymouth Marjon Cannons22 8 14 0.36416
11 Northampton Neptunes22 5 17 0.22710
12 University of Birmingham22 2 20 0.0914
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

BBL Cup

Of the 12 competing teams in this season's BBL Cup, eight entered into the First Round while the top-four ranked teams from last season's Championship – Guildford Heat, Milton Keynes Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Plymouth Raiders – received byes into the quarter-finals, where they would also receive home-court advantage.

Semi-finals 2nd leg

Plymouth Raiders win 162-142 on aggregate and Everton Tigers win 202-198 on aggregate.

Final

BBL Trophy

The First Round of the BBL Trophy uses its usually round-robin format with the 12 competing teams divided into four regionalised groups with the winner of each group then advancing to a two-legged Semi-final encounter and progress to the Final being determined by a total aggregate score.

Group stage

Group 1

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Newcastle Eagles64310.750
2.Sheffield Sharks44220.500
3.Scottish Rocks24130.250

Group 3

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Guildford Heat84401.000
2.Milton Keynes Lions44220.500
3.London Capital04040.000

Group 2

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Everton Tigers84401.000
2.Cheshire Jets44220.500
3.Leicester Riders04040.000

Group 4

TeamPtsPldWLPercent
1.Plymouth Raiders64310.750
2.Worcester Wolves44220.500
3.Worthing Thunder24130.250

Semi-finals 2nd leg

Guildford Heat win 187-161 on aggregate and Newcastle Eagles win 176-159 on aggregate.

Final

All-Star Game

Great Britain All-Stars
Num. Player width=200Team
Starters
5 Yorick WilliamsMilton Keynes Lions
12Plymouth Raiders
15Leicester Riders
20Plymouth Raiders
22Guildford Heat
Reserves
4Worthing Thunder
8London Capital
9Cheshire Jets
10Guildford Heat
11Milton Keynes Lions
14Sheffield Sharks
21London Capital
Rest of the World All-Stars
Num. Player width=200Team
Starters
4Worthing Thunder
10Leicester Riders
11
21Worcester Wolves
23Sheffield Sharks
Reserves
5Leicester Riders
7Guildford Heat
8Worthing Thunder
12Worcester Wolves
14Plymouth Raiders
20Guildford Heat
22Cheshire Jets

Seasonal awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: James Pearce . Tigers power to victory in final flourish . 2008 . 2010-11-08 . Liverpool Echo.
  2. Web site: Colin Tattum . Panthers fold as BBL pull the plug . 2008 . 2010-11-08 . Birmingham Mail.
  3. News: BBC Sport . Worthing Thunder set to join BBL . 2010-11-08 . BBC . May 21, 2008.
  4. Web site: Brian Owen . Thunder invited into top-flight . 2008 . 2010-11-08 . The Argus.
  5. Web site: Richard Spiller . Heat win Cup Winners' Cup . 2008 . 2010-11-08 . getSurrey.co.uk.

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