The 1980–81 Rotary Watches National Basketball League season was the ninth season of the National Basketball League formed in 1972.[1]
The league was sponsored by Rotary Watches for the third consecutive year and Birmingham Team Fiat broke the Crystal Palace monopoly by taking the league title. Sunderland provided a major shock when securing the Play Off's title. Crystal Palace who were expected to make a clean sweep of silverware gained some consolation by winning the National Cup.[2]
Team changes
Coventry Team Fiat were rebranded Birmingham and moved to a larger venue at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre which served as a catalyst for their success. Manchester took on the name Trafford for the season but apart from this the teams remained the same. A team called Solent Stars backed by a millionaire businessman called Harry Smith [3] easily won the second division and competed successfully against first division teams in tournaments.[4]
First Division league standings
Rotary Watches playoffs
Semi-Finals
| venue & date |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Score |
| March 13, Wembley Arena | Birmingham Team Fiat | Sunderland Saints | 73-80 |
| March 13, Wembley Arena | Crystal Palace | Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine | 88-86 |
Final
| Sunderland Saints |
96–92 |
Crystal Palace |
| Pts: David Lloyd ??, Gregg Bunch ??, James McCauley ?? |
|
Pts: Dan Lloyd ??, Bob Roma ??, Clive Hartley ??, Alton Byrd ?? |
Second Division league standings
| Pos |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
| 1 | Solent Stars | 16 | 15 | 1 | 1824 | 1221 | 30 |
| 2 | Brighton Bears | 16 | 13 | 3 | 1654 | 1426 | 26 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 16 | 11 | 5 | 1731 | 1241 | 22 |
| 4 | National Breakdown Leeds | 16 | 11 | 5 | 1448 | 1303 | 22 |
| 5 | Camden & Hampstead | 16 | 8 | 8 | 1457 | 1468 | 16 |
| 6 | Nottingham | 16 | 5 | 11 | 1266 | 1430 | 10 |
| 7 | Brunel Uxbridge | 16 | 5 | 11 | 1258 | 1481 | 10 |
| 8 | Colchester Moles | 16 | 2 | 14 | 1201 | 1592 | 4 |
| 9 | Hemeling Wolverhampton | 16 | 2 | 14 | 1272 | 1779 | 4 |
Asda National Cup
First Round
| Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Score |
| Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine | Crystal Palace | 83-97 |
| Stockport Belgrade | National Breakdown Leeds | 78-80 |
| Sunderland Saints | Liverpool | 103-78 |
| John Carr Doncaster | Trafford Giants | 88-87 aet |
| Brighton Bears | Solent Stars | 105-129 |
| Nottingham | Birmingham Team Fiat | 69-105 |
| Brunel Uxbridge | KGI Kingston | 74-118 |
| Colchester Moles | Team Talbot Guildford | 77-104 |
Quarter Finals
| Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Score |
| KGI Kingston | Crystal Palace | 70-81 |
| National Breakdown Leeds | Sunderland Saints | 71-82 |
| Team Talbot Guildford | John Carr Doncaster | 71-83 |
| Solent Stars | Birmingham Team Fiat | 98-101 |
Semi Finals
| venue & date |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Score |
| Dec 05, Bradford | John Carr Doncaster | Sunderland Saints | 73-68 |
| Dec 12, Bletchley | Crystal Palace | Birmingham Team Fiat | 94-73 |
Final
| Crystal Palace |
91–74 |
John Carr Doncaster |
| Pts: Bob Roma 24, Clive Hartley 19, Alton Byrd 16, Dan Lloyd 10, Paul Stimpson 8, Richard Rudd 6, Pete Jeremich 6, Kolton Lee 2 |
|
Pts: Cliff Bell 20, Danny Randall 17, Paul Richards 16, Steve O'Shea 11, Ian Day 6, Chris Bycroft 4 |