1987–88 British Basketball League season

1987–88 BBL season British Basketball League Basketball 15 Roll of Honour BBL Portsmouth Play-off's Livingston National Cup Kingston BBL Trophy Livingston List of British Basketball League seasons British Basketball League 1986–87 1988–89 The 1987–88 BBL season was the first season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons), a breakaway competition formed by teams from the English National League and the Scottish National League. The season featured a total of 15 teams, playing 28 games each. Portsmouth, reigning champions of the English League claimed the regular season title with a dominating campaign led by the likes of Alan Cunningham and Colin Irish. They weren't able to repeat their success in the post-season play-off's as third-seed Livingston, the reigning Scottish champions, caused a huge upset with an 81–72 win over Portsmouth in the final.BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 15 Kingston won their fourth consecutive National Cup and Livingston claimed the inaugural BBL Trophy. In the National League (the tier below the Carlsberg League) the Worthing Bears won the league with a 100% (18–0) record and in the play-off semi-final Billy Hungrecker scored a record 73 points in a 119–110 overtime win over Plymouth Raiders, before defeating Brixton TopCats in the final. Carlsberg League (Tier 1) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%PFPAPts1 Portsmouth 28 26 2 0.92826772189522 Kingston 28 24 4 0.8572931247548 3 Livingston 28 22 6 0.7852762229944 4 Manchester United 28 21 7 0.7502718234542 5 Calderdale Explorers 28 20 8 0.7142694225640 6 Bracknell Tigers 28 17 11 0.60726232435347 Birmingham Bullets 28 14 14 0.5002638275728 8 Solent Stars 28 14 14 0.5002638275728 9 Leicester City Riders 28 14 14 0.5002780267828 10 Bolton & Bury Giants 28 12 16 0.4282460248524 11 Hemel & Watford Royals 28 9 19 0.321264728931812 Sunderland 76ers 28 8 20 0.2852588290516 13 Derby Rams 28 4 24 0.142206226408 14 Oldham Celtics 28 3 25 0.107243530406 15 Crystal Palace 28 2 26 0.071228129814 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Carlsberg League playoffs Playoffs Quarter-finals (1) Portsmouth vs. (8) Solent Stars #eee Portsmouth 115 86 Solent Stars Solent Stars 103 113 Portsmouth Portsmouth win series, 2–0 (2) Kingston vs. (7) Birmingham Bullets #eee Birmingham Bullets 102 117 Kingston Kingston 114 102 Birmingham Bullets Kingston win series, 2–0 (3) Livingston vs. (6) Bracknell Tigers #eee Bracknell Tigers 79 74 Livingston Livingston 102 85 Bracknell Tigers #eee Livingston 92 67 Bracknell Tigers Livingston win series, 2–1 (4) Manchester United vs. (5) Calderdale Explorers #eee Calderdale Explorers 77 79 Manchester United Manchester United 83 73 Calderdale Explorers Manchester win series, 2–0 Semi-finals #eee 9 April 1988 Portsmouth 98 90 Manchester United Wembley Arena, London 9 April 1988 Kingston 88 101 Livingston Wembley Arena, London Final #eee 10 April 1988http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF503162870&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 Nicholas Harling. "Gardner is off to the quiet life." Times [London, England] 12 Apr. 1988 The Times Murray International Metals Livingston 81 72 Portsmouth Graeme Hill (MVP) 23, Rolton Way 23, Tommy Collier 12, Lewis Young 11 Colin Irish 28, Alan Cunningham 18, Rich Strong 12 Wembley Arena ?Livingston Coach Jody Gardner Portsmouth Coach Dan Lloyd National League (Tier 2) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Worthing Bears 18 18 0 1.000362 Brixton Topcats 18 14 4 0.77828 3 Tower Hamlets 18 12 6 0.66724 4 Plymouth Raiders 18 12 6 0.66724 5 Gateshead 18 11 7 0.61122 6 Aberdare 18 9 9 0.500187 Ellesmere Port Jets 18 7 11 0.38914 8 Market Harborough 18 3 15 0.1676 9 Cardiff 18 2 16 0.111410 Stevenage 18 2 16 0.1114 = League winners Prudential National Cup Second round #eee Loftys Travel Ellesmere Port 94 99 Sunderland 76ers Leicester City Riders 105 73 IIIE Gateshead #eee Sharp Manchester United 114 72 BPCC Derby Rams Drapers Tools Solent Stars 117 98 Brunel Crystal Palace London #eee Alphaprint H. Hempstead Watford Royals 106 79 JHB Oil Plymouth Calderdale Explorers 95 78 Oldham Celtics #eee North London College 70 137 Polycell Kingston Portsmouth 85 82 Bracknell Tigers Quarter-finals #eee Polycell Kingston 108 100 Alphaprint H. Hempstead Watford Royals Sharp Manchester United 83 80 Calderdale Explorers #eee Leicester City Riders 104 93 Drapers Tools Solent Stars Portsmouth 98 88 Sunderlands 76ers Semi-finals #eee Polycell Kingston 109 91 Leicester City Riders Portsmouth 107 90 Sharp Manchester United Final #eee 14 December 1987http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF501734438&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 Nicholas Harling. "Kingston's cup with four in a row record." Times [London, England] 15 Dec. 1987 The Times Kingston 90 84 Portsmouth Martin Clark 31, Joel Moore 25, Danny Davis 11, Steve Bontrager 11 Alan Cunningham 32, Mike Spaid 14, Karl Tatham 11, Rich Strong 10, Marc Glass 10, Colin Irish 2 Royal Albert Hall, London 5,000Kingston Coach Kevin Cadle Portsmouth Coach Dan Lloyd NatWest Trophy Group stage North Group 1 TeamPtsPldWLPercent1. Calderdale Explorers106510.8332. Manchester United106510.8333. Bolton & Bury Giants46240.3334. Oldham Celtics06060.000 North Group 2 TeamPtsPldWLPercent1. Livingston126601.0002. Leicester City Riders66330.5003. Sunderland 76ers66330.5004. Derby Rams06060.000 South Group 1 TeamPtsPldWLPercent1. Kingston126601.0002. Hemel & Watford Royals46240.3333. Crystal Palace46240.3334. Birmingham Bullets46240.333 South Group 2 TeamPtsPldWLPercent1. Portsmouth84401.0002. Bracknell Tigers44220.5003. Solent Stars04040.000 Semi-finals Calderdale Explorers vs. Livingston #eee Calderdale Explorers 75 68 Livingston Livingston 90 67 Calderdale Explorers Livingston win on aggregate, 158–142 Kingston vs. Portsmouth #eee Portsmouth 94 87 Kingston Kingston 80 74 Portsmouth Portsmouth win on aggregate, 168–167 Final #eee 30 March 1988 20:00 Livingston 96 91 46–56 50–35 Portsmouth Ralton Way 33, Tommy Collier 19, Lewis Young 17 Alan Cunningham 33, Marc Glass 25, Colin Irish 24 Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham 2,000Livingston Coach Jody Gardner Portsmouth Coach Dan Lloyd Seasonal awards Most Valuable Player: Daryl Thomas (Hemel & Watford Royals) Coach of the Year: Gary Johnson (Calderdale Explorers) All-Star Team: Steve Bontrager (Kingston) Alan Cunningham (Portsmouth F.C.) Dan Davis (Kingston) Vic Flemming (Livingston) Marcus Gaither (Birmingham Bullets) Colin Irish (Portsmouth F.C.) Gary Johnson (Calderdale Explorers) Phil Smith (Solent Stars) Daryl Thomas (Hemel & Watford Royals) Clyde Vaughan (Leicester City Riders) References 1986–1987 season 1988–89 season BBL seasons 1987–88 Category:British Basketball League seasons 1 British