1996–97 British Basketball League season

The 1996–1997 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the long-awaited return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced Doncaster Panthers following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club.[1]

1996–97 British Basketball League season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsLeopards
Play Off's championsLondon Towers
National Cup championsLeopards
BBL Trophy championsLondon Towers

The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the Leopards team claiming their first silverware in its franchise history after winning the Budweiser League and Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup double. Their Capital foes, London Towers were equally successful throughout the campaign, clinching the 7 Up Trophy and pipping Leopards to the Play-off title, with a one-point victory in the final at Wembley Arena against their rivals.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Leopards 362880.77856
2London Towers 3626100.72252
3Sheffield Sharks 3626100.72252
4Birmingham Bullets 3626100.72252
5Chester Jets 3624120.66748
6Manchester Giants 3622140.61144
7Newcastle Eagles 3621150.58342
8Leicester Riders 3615210.41630
9Derby Storm 3614220.38928
10Thames Valley Tigers 3614220.38928
11Worthing Bears 3612240.33324
12Crystal Palace 365310.13810
13Hemel & Watford Royals 362340.0554
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

Quarter-finals

(1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders

12 April 1997
Leicester Riders 122–130 Leopards
13 April 1997
Leopards 114–105 Leicester Riders
Leopards wins series, 2–0

(2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles

11 April 1997
Newcastle Eagles 79–91 London Towers
15 April 1997
London Towers 70–80 Newcastle Eagles
20 April 1997
London Towers 96–80 Newcastle Eagles
London wins series, 2–1

(3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants

13 April 1997
Manchester Giants 72–77 Sheffield Sharks
15 April 1997
Sheffield Sharks 74–68 Manchester Giants
Sheffield wins series, 2–0

(4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets

13 April 1997
Chester Jets 86–78 Birmingham Bullets
16 April 1997
Birmingham Bullets 82–72 Chester Jets
18 April 1997
Birmingham Bullets 78–81 Chester Jets
Chester wins series, 2–1

Semi-finals
3 May 1997
Leopards 102–101 Chester Jets
3 May 1997
London Towers 80–72 Sheffield Sharks

Final
4 May 1997
London Towers 89–88 Leopards
Pts: Keith Robinson (MVP) 25, Danny Lewis 22, Neville Austin 11, Roger Duhaney, Tony Windless, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch, Karl Brown Pts: Eric Burks 22, Ronnie Baker 20, Tim Davis 16, Robert Youngblood, John Tresvant, John White
Wembley Arena, London
Attendance: ?
Towers coach Kevin Cadle
Leopards coach Billy Mims

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Ware Rebels 262150.80847
2Plymouth Raiders 262060.76946
3Coventry Crusaders 261880.69344
4Guildford Swifts 261880.69344
5Oxford Devils 2616100.61542
6Westminster Warriors 2615110.57841
7Stockton Mohawks 2614120.53840
8Cardiff Phoenix 2614120.53840
9Nottingham Knights 2612140.46237
10Bury & Bolton Wildcats 2611150.42336
11Mid-Sussex Magic 2610160.38536
12Brixton TopCats 267190.26933
13Liverpool Atac 266200.23132
14Solent Stars 260260.00026
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final – Plymouth 118 Ware 106

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Solihull Chiefs 262510.96251
2London Towers II 262240.84648
3Thames Valley Tigers II 262060.76946
4South Wales SS 261790.65443
5South Bank Leopards 2615110.57841
6Derby Storm II 2615110.57841
7Slough Chargers 2614120.53840
8Northampton 89ers 2611150.42337
9Aston Adante 269170.34635
10Swindon Sonics 268180.30834
11Flintshire Flyers 267190.26933
12Chessington Wildcats 267190.26933
13Sheffield Forgers 266200.23131
14Bournemouth Dolphins 265210.19230
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final – Thames Valley 91 Solihull 83

Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth Round
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Manchester GiantsCrystal Palace91-61
Coventry CrusadersSheffield Sharks56-86
Birmingham BulletsHemel & Watford Royals91-84
Cardiff PhoenixLondon Towers55-95
Ware RebelsNewcastle Eagles70-102
Thames Valley TigersDerby Storm80-79
Worthing BearsLeicester Riders74-84
Chester JetsLeopards103-112

Quarter Finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Sheffield SharksLeicester Riders103-98
London TowersManchester Giants83-74
Newcastle EaglesBirmingham Bullets99-93
Thames Valley TigersLeopards87-102

Semi Finals
Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Sheffield SharksNewcastle Eagles91-8075-84
LeopardsLondon Towers93-9272-70

Final
19 January 1997[2]
Leopards 87–79 Sheffield Sharks
Pts: Eric Burks (MVP) 28, John White 28, Robert Youngblood 16, John Tresvant, Tim Davis, Ronnie Baker Pts: Roger Huggins 26, Voise Winters 19, Todd Cauthorn, Deon Hames, Isaac Morgan, Ian McKinney, Jason Swaine, Chris Finch
Sheffield Arena
Attendance: ?
Leopards coach Billy Mims
Sheffield coach Jim Brandon

7 Up Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Sheffield Sharks 105501.000
2.Chester Jets 85410.800
3.Leicester Riders 45230.400
4.Manchester Giants 45230.400
5.Derby Storm 25140.200
6.Newcastle Eagles 25140.200

Southern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Leopards 105501.000
2.Thames Valley Tigers 65320.600
3.Worthing Bears 65320.600
4.Birmingham Bullets 65320.600
5.Crystal Palace 25140.400
6.Hemel & Watford Royals 05050.000

Leicester finished ahead of Manchester by having the best head-to-head record between the teams, whilst Birmingham qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record. London received a bye into Quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

Birmingham Bullets vs. Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders 69–79 Birmingham Bullets
Leicester win on aggregate, 164–156

Leopards vs. London Towers

London Towers 92–90 Leopards
London win on aggregate, 203–169

Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets

Thames Valley Tigers 85–91 Chester Jets
Chester Jets 89–89 Thames Valley Tigers
Chester win on aggregate, 180–174

Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks

Worthing Bears 81–83 Sheffield Sharks
Sheffield Sharks 97–85 Worthing Bears
Sheffield win on aggregate, 180–166

Semi-finals

Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders

Chester Jets 92–88 Leicester Riders
Leicester Riders 92–93 Chester Jets
Chester win on aggregate, 185–180

Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers

London Towers 80–71 Sheffield Sharks
London win on aggregate, 154–146

Final
2 March 1997[3]
London Towers 67–59 Chester Jets
Pts: Karl Brown (MVP) 16, Neville Austin 14, Danny Lewis 13, Tony Windless 11, Keith Robinson, Alan Cunningham, Paul Deppisch Pts: Hillary Scott 16, Billy Singleton 15, Ricardo Leonard 11, Russ Saunders 10, Nigel Palmer, Mark Ogley
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Towers coach Kevin Cadle
Chester coach Mike Burton

Seasonal awards

References
  1. ""Final place in Olympic team goes to Elliott." Times [London, England] 25 June 1996". The Times Digital Archive.
  2. "Nicholas Harling. "Leopards' leap puts them out of reach." Times [London, England] 20 January 1997". The Times Digital Archive.
  3. "Nicholas Harling. "Towers' strength in defence keeps grip on trophy." Times [London, England] 3 March 1997". The Times Digital Archive.
Preceded by
1995–96 season		 BBL seasons
1996–97		 Succeeded by
1997–98 season
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