1995–96 British Basketball League season

1995–96 BBL season British Basketball League Basketball Roll of Honour BBL London Towers Playoffs Birmingham Bullets National Cup London Towers BBL Trophy London Towers List of British Basketball League seasons British Basketball League 1994–95 1996–97 The 1995–96 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The division retained the same thirteen teams as the previous year after the BBL rejected an application from Crystal Palace who had sealed the National League Division One (the second tier) title. The main change saw the Sunderland Scorpions renamed the Newcastle Comets due to a change of franchise and venue, their new home would be in Gateshead until the newly built Newcastle Arena opened on 18 November. The Manchester Giants also had a new home at the Nynex Arena and the sport was boosted by the return of TV coverage by Sky Sports.http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF502144124&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 Nicholas Harling. "Basketball shooting high as TV returns." Times [London, England] 9 Sept. 1995 The Times Digital Archive London Towers clinched a treble, winning the National Cup, 7 Up Trophy and finishing top of the regular season standings. They were defeated in the Championship Play-off final by Birmingham Bullets.BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 11 Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 London Towers 36 32 4 0.889642 Sheffield Sharks 36 30 6 0.83360 3 Birmingham Bullets 36 26 10 0.72252 4 Leopards 36 23 13 0.63846 5 Manchester Giants 36 21 15 0.58342 6 Derby Storm 36 21 15 0.58342 7 Worthing Bears 36 19 17 0.527388 Thames Valley Tigers 36 16 20 0.44432 9 Newcastle Comets 36 11 25 0.30522 10 Leicester City Riders 36 11 25 0.30522 11 Doncaster Panthers 36 10 26 0.27820 12 Chester Jets 36 8 28 0.22216 13 Hemel Royals 36 6 30 0.16712 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Playoffs Quarter-finals (1) London Towers vs. (8) Thames Valley Tigers #eee Thames Valley Tigers 87 118 London Towers London Towers 94 81 Thames Valley Tigers London win series, 2–0 (2) Sheffield Sharks vs. (7) Worthing Bears #eee Worthing Bears 75 78 Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Sharks 79 60 Worthing Bears Sheffield win series, 2–0 (3) Birmingham Bullets vs. (6) Derby Storm #eee Derby Storm 78 92 Birmingham Bullets Birmingham Bullets 96 88 Derby Storm Birmingham win series, 2–0 (4) Leopards vs. (5) Manchester Giants #eee Manchester Giants 72 76 0-1 Leopards Leopards 74 83 Manchester Giants #eee Leopards 73 75 Manchester Giants Manchester win series, 2–1 Semi-finals #eee London Towers 95 86 Manchester Giants Wembley Arena, London Sheffield Sharks 68 82 Birmingham Bullets Wembley Arena, London Final #eee 5 May 1996http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF502123525&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 Nicholas Harling. "Bullets triggered by Dorsey's power." Times [London, England] 6 May 1996 The Times Digital Archive 19:00 Birmingham Bullets 78 72 – 43–45 17–15 18–12 London Towers Nigel Lloyd 23, Dorsey 22, Gordon 12 MVP: Tony Dorsey Windless 19, Bucknall/Lewis 13 Wembley Arena, London ?Birmingham Coach Nick Nurse London Coach Kevin Cadle Sky Sports 1 National League Division 1 (Tier 2) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Crystal Palace 22 22 0 1.000442 Coventry Crusaders 22 19 3 0.86438 3 Ware Rebels * 22 17 5 0.77333 4 Cardiff Phoenix 22 14 8 0.63628 5 Bury Wildcats 22 10 12 0.45520 6 Stockton Mohawks 22 10 12 0.455207 Brixton TopCats 22 9 13 0.40918 8 Mid-Sussex Magic 22 9 13 0.40918 9 Nottingham Knights 22 7 15 0.31814 10 Plymouth Raiders 22 7 15 0.31814 11 Oldham Celtics 22 5 17 0.22710 12 Solent Stars 22 3 19 0.1366 = League winners One point deducted * Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup Fourth round Team 1 Team 2 Score Derby Bucks London Towers 65-82 Hemel Hempstead Royals Coventry Crusaders 101-73 Sheffield Sharks Chester Jets 71-40 Worthing Bears Leopards 82-87 Newcastle Comets Manchester Eagles 107-121 Ware Rebels Thames Valley Tigers 71-103 Crystal Palace Doncaster Panthers 82-81 Birmingham Bullets Leicester Riders 94-72 Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Thames Valley Tigers London Towers Crystal Palace Leopards 80-75 Sheffield Sharks Manchester Eagles Hemel Royals Birmingham Bullets 72-84 Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg Crystal Palace Sheffield Sharks 63-70 68-74 Birmingham Bullets London Towers 79-77 77-99 Final #eee 3 March 1996http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF501158528&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 Nicholas Harling. "Towers stay on track for a clean sweep." Times [London, England] 4 Mar. 1996 The Times Digital Archive London Towers 70 58 Sheffield Sharks Martin Henlan (MVP), Neville Austin, Roger Dulhaney, Tony Windless, Danny Lewis, Steve Bucknall Roger Huggins, Todd Cauthorn Sheffield Arena ?London Coach Kevin Cadle Sheffield Coach Jim Brandon 7 Up Trophy Group stage Northern Group TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Derby Storm84401.0002.Chester Jets44220.5003.Doncaster Panthers44220.5004.Leicester City Riders24130.2505.Newcastle Comets24130.250 Southern Group TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Worthing Bears63301.0002.Birmingham Bullets43210.6673.Leopards23120.3334.Hemel Royals03030.000 Chester finished ahead of Doncaster by having the best head-to-head record between the teams. London, Manchester, Sheffield and Thames Valley all received a bye into Quarter-finals. Quarter-finals Chester Jets vs. Birmingham Bullets #eee Chester Jets 89 108 Birmingham Bullets Birmingham Bullets 92 89 Chester Jets Birmingham win on aggregate, 200–178 Manchester Giants vs. Sheffield Sharks #eee Manchester Giants 78 81 Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Sharks 77 66 Manchester Giants Sheffield win on aggregate, 158–144 Thames Valley Tigers vs. London Towers #eee Thames Valley Tigers 82 89 London Towers London Towers 85 66 Thames Valley Tigers London win on aggregate, 174–148 Worthing Bears vs. Derby Storm #eee Worthing Bears 86 88 Derby Storm Derby Storm 93 99 Worthing Bears Worthing win on aggregate, 185–181 Semi-finals London Towers vs. Birmingham Bullets #eee London Towers 64 62 Birmingham Bullets Birmingham Bullets 75 92 London Towers London win on aggregate, 156–137 Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks #eee Worthing Bears 86 87 Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Sharks 69 72 Worthing Bears Worthing win on aggregate, 158–156 Final #eee 13 January 1996http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=oxfshlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF500767633&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 "Towers leave it late to rise to the challenge." Times [London, England] 15 Jan. 1996 The Times Digital Archive London Towers 90 84 Worthing Bears Tony Windless (MVP), Steve Bucknall, Danny Lewis, Martin Henlan, Roger Duhaney Colin Irish National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham ?London Coach Kevin Cadle Worthing Coach Colin Irish Seasonal awards Most Valuable Player: Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (London Towers) All-Star Team: Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) Karl Brown (Leopards) Steve Bucknall (London Towers) Todd Cauthorn (Sheffield Sharks) Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks) LaKeith Humphrey (Derby Storm) Colin Irish (Worthing Bears) Danny Lewis (London Towers) Mark Robinson (Manchester Giants) Tony Windless (London Towers) References 30em 1994–95 season 1996–97 season BBL seasons 1995–96 Category:British Basketball League seasons 1 British