1998–99 British Basketball League season

1998–99 BBL season British Basketball League Basketball Roll of Honour BBL Sheffield Sharks Play Off's London Towers National Cup Sheffield Sharks BBL Trophy Manchester Giants List of British Basketball League seasons British Basketball League 1997–98 1999–2000 The 1998–99 BBL season was the 12th season of the British Basketball League, known as the Budweiser Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, since its establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on September 12, 1998, and ended on April 4, 1999, with a total of 13 teams competing, playing 36 games each. The post-season Play-offs began on April 9 and culminated in the end-of-season finale on May 2 at Wembley Arena. Start-up franchise Edinburgh Rocks became the League's newest member following their addition as the 14th franchise during the pre-season and the first Scottish team to appear in the top-flight since Glasgow Rangers' participation in the 1988–89 season. The League membership was reduced to 13 teams shortly after following the merger of the London Towers and Crystal Palace franchises, whilst another notable change was the uprooting of Watford Royals, who moved to the Bletchley Centre in Milton Keynes to become the Milton Keynes Lions. Royals reign in Watford is over http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/169658.royals_reign_in_watford_is_over/ 1998 2012-12-03 News Shopper Sheffield Sharks were a dominant force throughout the season, winning the Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup whilst storming the Budweiser League and taking the Championship to complete the "Double". The campaign came down to a memorable final game where Sharks claimed the title from rivals Manchester Giants with the last shot of the game, winning 85–87 to take the crown. Their successful run fell short in the play-offs however, managing only a third-placed finish thus allowing a new-look London Towers to claim the title. Manchester Giants also ended a decade-long drought of silverware with their win in the uni-ball Trophy. No teams participated in European competition after Birmingham Bullets and Greater London Leopards both declined to compete in the Saporta Cup. Notable occurrences Edinburgh Rocks were officially announced as the League's newest franchise on 4 June 1998 – though the Rocks nickname was revealed at a later date – with former NBA player Jim Brandon signed as the team's head coach. Oddballs are here http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/oddballs-are-here-1.341070 1998 2012-12-03 The Herald The London Towers and Crystal Palace teams merged their organisations during the close-season, with the new franchise continuing to use the London Towers branding and utilising the home venues of both clubs, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and Wembley Arena for home games.November 2020 Watford Royals owner Vince Macaulay announced on 19 June that he was moving the franchise to Milton Keynes due to a lack of suitable venues for home games in Watford, Royals reign in Watford is over http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/169658.royals_reign_in_watford_is_over/ 1998 2012-12-03 News Shopper after plans for a new 3,000-capacity arena in Watford, to be built in partnership with Watford F.C., fell through. London Lions History http://www.londonlionsbasketball.co.uk/club/history.html/ 2012 2012-12-03 LondonLionsBasketball.co.uk https://web.archive.org/web/20121118093318/http://www.londonlionsbasketball.co.uk/club/history.html 2012-11-18 dead The Budweiser League game between Chester Jets and Derby Storm on 31 January 1999 was abandoned after 30 seconds due to a court invasion from both sets of players following a fight between Chester's Sean Hartley and Derby's England international Yorick Williams. Media reports claim it was the most serious incident in the history of competitive basketball in Britain. Richard Taylor Fight ends game after 30 seconds https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-fight-ends-game-after-30-seconds-1068072.html 2012-12-03 The Independent London February 1, 1999 Richard Taylor Mayhem on court https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-mayhem-on-court-1068075.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015646/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-mayhem-on-court-1068075.html dead March 5, 2016 2012-12-03 The Independent London February 1, 1999 Four players were initially ejected from the game, including Williams and Hartley, whilst Chester physio Alison Troughtman was taken to hospital, suffering from a suspected broken-jaw. Richard Taylor Police probe assault on Chester's physio https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-police-probe-assault-on-chesters-physio-1068273.html 2012-12-03 The Independent London February 2, 1999 It was later announced that Williams was suspended for the remainder of the regular season, whilst Derby's Rico Alderson was banned until the following season. News February 27 http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/britball/message/355 https://archive.today/20130210043827/http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/britball/message/355 dead February 10, 2013 1999 2012-12-03 BritBall The Southern All-Stars were victorious in the annual All-Star Game against their Northern rivals, with a 156–158 win at Newcastle Arena on February 27. Edinburgh's Ted Berry was the game-high scorer with 29 points and was named as the games Most Valuable Player. South take 1999 All-Star Game http://www.britball.com/archive99/allstar99.htm 1999 2012-12-03 BritBall Manchester Giants claimed their first piece of silverware in franchise history after defeating Derby in the uni-ball Trophy Final on 13 March. Giants won 90–69, and the 21-point gap between the two teams was the biggest winning margin in the event's history. Richard Taylor First title secured by Giants https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-first-title-secured-by-giants-1080817.html 2012-12-03 The Independent London March 15, 1999 Furthering their ongoing disciplinary issues, it was revealed in April that Derby Storm's American player Maurice Robinson was issued with a one-year suspension for failing to supply a complete urine sample during a Sports Council doping control test. Richard Taylor Robinson faced with one year suspension https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-robinson-faced-with-oneyear-suspension-1086342.html 2012-12-03 The Independent London April 10, 1999 The Budweiser League came down to a memorable final game between title-chasing rivals Sheffield Sharks and Manchester Giants in-front of more than 11,000 fans at the MEN Arena. With both teams tied on points at the top of the League table, and tied at 85–85 with just 3.5 seconds left in the game, Terrell Myers took the pass and his 18 ft buzzer-beating jump-shot claimed the title for Sheffield. Richard Taylor Myers in moment of magic https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/basketball-myers-in-moment-of-magic-1084874.html 2012-12-03 The Independent London April 3, 1999 London Towers were crowned as Budweiser League Play-off champions on 2 May, after defeating Thames Valley Tigers 82–71 at Wembley Arena. Towers' Malcolm Leak lead the game's scoring, posting 20 points. Towers are crowned at Wembley http://www.britball.com/blc99-final.htm 1999 2012-12-03 BritBall Nottingham-based businessman Craig Bown purchased the Birmingham Bullets franchise at the end of the season for a reported six-figure sum. Bown budgeting to make Bullets high-calibre weapon http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Basketball%3A+Bown+budgeting+to+make+Bullets+high-calibre+weapon.-a060535599 1999 2012-12-03 Birmingham Post Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Sheffield Sharks 36 31 5 0.861622 Manchester Giants 36 30 6 0.83360 3 London Towers 36 24 12 0.66748 4 Thames Valley Tigers 36 22 14 0.61144 5 Newcastle Eagles 36 21 15 0.58342 6 Derby Storm 36 21 15 0.58342 7 Birmingham Bullets 36 21 15 0.583428 Greater London Leopards 36 19 17 0.52738 9 Edinburgh Rocks 36 12 24 0.33324 10 Milton Keynes Lions 36 10 26 0.27820 11 Chester Jets 36 10 26 0.27820 12 Leicester Riders 36 9 27 0.25018 13 Worthing Bears 36 4 32 0.1118 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Playoffs Quarter-finals (1) Sheffield Sharks vs. (8) Greater London Leopards #eee April 11, 1999 Greater London Leopards 83 76 Sheffield Sharks Brentwood Centre, Brentwood April 14, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 100 82 Greater London Leopards Ponds Forge, Sheffield #eee April 16, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 75 68 Greater London Leopards Wembley Arena, London Sheffield wins series, 2–1 (2) Manchester Giants vs. (7) Birmingham Bullets #eee April 11, 1999 Birmingham Bullets 82 74 Manchester Giants National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham April 15, 1999 Manchester Giants 78 71 Birmingham Bullets Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester #eee April 17, 1999 Manchester Giants 90 77 Birmingham Bullets Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester Manchester wins series, 2–1 (3) London Towers vs. (5) Newcastle Eagles #eee April 9, 1999 Newcastle Eagles 78 76 London Towers Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne April 15, 1999 London Towers 91 76 Newcastle Eagles Wembley Arena, London #eee April 17, 1999 London Towers 87 68 Newcastle Eagles Wembley Arena, London London wins series, 2–1 (4) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (6) Derby Storm #eee April 10, 1999 Derby Storm 87 91 Thames Valley Tigers Storm Arena, Derby April 14, 1999 Thames Valley Tigers 114 93 Derby Storm Bracknell Leisure Centre, Bracknell Thames Valley wins series, 2–0 Semi-finals #eee May 1, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 78 85 London Towers Wembley Arena, London May 1, 1999 Manchester Giants 76 79 Thames Valley Tigers Wembley Arena, London Third-place game #eee May 2, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 98 88 Manchester Giants Wembley Arena, London Final #eee May 2, 1999 6.30pm GMT Report London Towers 82 71 Thames Valley Tigers Malcolm Leak 20, Jason Siemon, Danny Lewis (MVP), Martin Henlan, Randy Duck Bryan Balser 22, Mark Jackson, Stewart Clark, Lee Walker Wembley Arena, London 9,000Towers coachLino Frattin Tigers coach Paul James National League Division 1 (Tier 2) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Solent Stars * 26 21 5 0.808422 Plymouth Raiders 26 21 5 0.80842 3 Guildford Pumas 26 19 7 0.73138 4 Teesside Mohawks 26 19 7 0.73138 5 London Towers II 26 17 9 0.65434 6 Mid-Sussex Magic 26 16 10 0.615327 Cardiff Clippers 26 14 12 0.53828 8 Coventry Crusaders 26 12 14 0.46324 9 Westminster Warriors 26 9 17 0.34618 10 Stevenage Rebels 26 9 17 0.34618 11 Oxford Devils 26 9 17 0.34618 12 Solihull Chiefs 26 7 19 0.26914 13 Cardiff Phoenix 26 6 20 0.23112 14 Brixton TopCats 26 2 24 0.0774 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Champions by virtue of head-to-head record* Playoffs Quarter-finals Teesside Mohawks 89 76 London Towers II #eee Plymouth Raiders 111 101 Cardiff Clippers Guildford Pumas 90 79 Mid-Sussex Magic #eee Solent Stars 84 79 Coventry Crusaders Semi-finals Plymouth Raiders 93 75 Guildford Pumas #eee Solent Stars 92 113 Teesside Mohawks Final #eee Plymouth Raiders 71 66 Teesside Mohawks Guildford Spectrum National League Division 2 (Tier 3) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Birmingham Bullets II 26 22 4 0.846442 Taunton Tigers 26 21 5 0.80842 3 City of Manchester Attitude 26 18 8 0.69336 4 Reading Rockets 26 17 9 0.65434 5 Liverpool Atac 26 16 10 0.61532 6 Chessington Wildcats 26 16 10 0.615327 Northampton 89ers 26 15 11 0.57730 8 Wandsworth Bulls 26 12 14 0.46324 9 Flintshire Flyers 26 12 14 0.46324 10 Slough Chargers 26 8 18 0.30816 11 Swindon Sonics 26 7 19 0.26914 12 Bournemouth Dolphins 26 7 19 0.26914 13 Portsmouth Pirates 26 5 21 0.19210 14 Thames Valley Tigers II 26 5 21 0.19210 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Playoffs Quarter-finals Birmingham Bullets B 89 73 Wandsworth Bulls #eee Taunton Tigers 100 80 Northampton 89ers Manchester Attitude 90 72 Chessington Wildcats #eee Reading Rockets 79 91 Liverpool Atac Semi-finals Taunton Tigers 80 59 Manchester Attitude #eee Birmingham Bullets B 76 71 Liverpool Atac Final #eee Birmingham Bullets B 79 99 Taunton Tigers Guildford Spectrum National League Division 3 (Tier 4) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Kingston upon Hull Icebergs 20 18 2 0.900362 North London Lords 20 17 3 0.85034 3 NW London Wolverines 20 12 8 0.60024 4 Barking & Dag. Erkenwald 20 12 8 0.60024 5 Mansfield Express 20 11 9 0.55022 6 Ware Fire 20 11 9 0.550227 Derbyshire Arrows 20 9 11 0.45018 8 Cambridge 20 8 12 0.40016 9 Stoke Stealers 20 6 14 0.30012 10 Sutton 20 4 16 0.2008 11 Doncaster Eagles 20 2 18 0.1004 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Playoffs Quarter-finals NW London Wolverines 85 64 Ware Fire #eee North London Lords 82 71 Derbyshire Arrows Hull Icebergs 80 72 Cambridge #eee Barking & Dagenham Erkenwald 85 76 Mansfield Express Semi-finals Hull Icebergs 90 88 Barking & Dagenham Erkenwald #eee North London Lords 96 90 NW London Wolverines Final #eee Hull Icebergs 58 75 North London Lords Guildford Spectrum Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup Last 16 Team 1 Team 2 Score Teesside Mohawks Sheffield Sharks 83-91 Derby Storm Worthing Bears 103-82 Manchester Giants Edinburgh Rocks 90-70 Thames Valley Tigers London Towers 95-83 Plymouth Raiders Greater London Leopards 68-100 Stevenage Rebels Birmingham Bullets 63-106 Leicester Riders Chester Jets 89-92 Newcastle Eagles Milton Keynes Lions 77-69 Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Derby Storm 87-76 Manchester Giants Thames Valley Tigers 87-100 Greater London Leopards Birmingham Bullets 90-88 Chester Jets Newcastle Eagles 72-93 Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Thames Valley Tigers 78-66 Greater London Leopards Newcastle Eagles 98-95 OT Final #eee 10 January 1999http://gale.cengage.co.uk/times.aspx/ Nicholas Harling. "Towers' strength in defence keeps grip on trophy." Times [London, England] 3 Mar. 1997 The Times Digital Archive dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160430065942/http://gale.cengage.co.uk/times.aspx/ 2016-04-30 Sheffield Sharks 67 65 Greater London Leopards Terrell Myers (MVP) 29, Travis Conlan 16, Todd Cauthorn, Wilbur Johnson, Ian McKinney Tim Moore 25, Rashod Johnson 15, Robert Youngblood 15, Eric Burks, Stedroy Baker Sheffield Arena ?Sharks coach Chris Finch Leopards coach Billy Mims uni-ball Trophy Group stage Group A TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Sheffield Sharks127610.8572.Derby Storm107520.7143.Manchester Giants107520.7144.Chester Jets87430.5715.Leicester Riders87430.5716.Milton Keynes Lions27160.1427.Worthing Bears07070.000 Group B TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.London Towers84401.0002.Birmingham Bullets64310.7503.Newcastle Eagles44220.5004.Greater London Leopards24130.2505.Edinburgh Rocks04040.000 Quarter-finals #eee January 27, 1999 Birmingham Bullets 62 96 Manchester Giants Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham January 27, 1999 Derby Storm 109 102 Newcastle Eagles Storm Arena, Derby #eee January 27, 1999 London Towers 61 62 Leicester Riders Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London January 27, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 82 75 Chester Jets Ponds Forge, Sheffield Semi-finals Derby Storm vs. Leicester Riders #eee February 10, 1999 Derby Storm 88 75 Leicester Riders Storm Arena, Derby February 18, 1999 Leicester Riders 93 90 Derby Storm Granby Halls, Leicester Derby wins on aggregate, 178–168 Sheffield Sharks vs. Manchester Giants #eee February 10, 1999 Sheffield Sharks 77 81 Manchester Giants Sheffield Arena, Sheffield February 17, 1999 Manchester Giants 93 88 Sheffield Sharks Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester Manchester wins on aggregate, 174–165 Final #eee March 13, 1999 7.00pm GMT Report Manchester Giants 90 69 Derby Storm Tony Dorsey 28, Ronnie Baker (MVP) 21, John White 16, Makeba Perry 11 Joel Burns 20, Nate Reinking 16, Maurice Robinson 14, Martin Ford, John Tresvant National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham 6,500 Giants coach Nick Nurse Storm coach Bob Donewald, Jr. Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game #eee February 27, 1999 7.05pm GMT Report Northern All-Stars 156 158 Southern All-Stars Ted Berry, 29 Malcolm Leak/Jason Siemon, 24 Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne +Northern All-StarsPlayer Team USA Tony Dorsey Manchester Giants USA Terrell Myers Sheffield Sharks USA Billy Singleton Leicester Riders USA Nick Browning Chester Jets USA Ralph Blalock Newcastle Eagles USA JaRon Boone Leicester Riders USA Wilbur Johnson Sheffield Sharks USA Travis Conlon Sheffield Sharks USA Tony Holley Manchester Giants USA Ted Berry Edinburgh Rocks USA Chris Flite Newcastle Eagles USA Corey Jackson Newcastle Eagles Coach USA Nick Nurse Manchester Giants +Southern All-StarsPlayer Team USA John McCord Thames Valley Tigers USA Jon Gaines Worthing Bears Barbados Nigel Lloyd Birmingham Bullets USA Tony Windless Milton Keynes Lions USA Ireland Jason Siemon Thames Valley Tigers USA Reggie Kirk Birmingham Bullets USA Casey Arena Thames Valley Tigers USA Danny Lewis London Towers USA Malcolm Leak London Towers USA Robert Youngblood Greater London Leopards USA Eric Burks Greater London Leopards USA Dwayne Morton London Towers Coach USA Billy Mims Greater London Leopards Statistics leaders CategoryPlayerStatPoints per gameUSA John White (Manchester Giants) 26.09Rebounds per game USA Rico Alderson (Derby Storm) 11.84Assists per game USA Prentice McGruder (Chester Jets) 8.38Steals per game USA Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) 3.34Blocks per game USA James Doyle (Leicester Riders) 2.56 Seasonal awards Most Valuable Player: Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks) Coach of the Year: Chris Finch (Sheffield Sharks) All-Star First Team: Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks) John White (Manchester Giants) Tony Dorsey (Manchester Giants) John McCord (Thames Valley Tigers) Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets) All-Star Second Team: Tim Moore (Greater London Leopards) Travis Conlan (Sheffield Sharks) Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles) Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) Danny Lewis (London Towers) References 30em 1997–98 season 1999–2000 season BBL seasons 1998–99 Category:British Basketball League seasons 1 British