2005–06 British Basketball League season

The 2005–06 season was the 19th season of the British Basketball League, which ran from 23 September 2005 through to 11 April 2006. The season started earlier than usual because of England's participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which took place during the regular season.

2005–2006 British Basketball League season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsNewcastle Eagles
Play Off's championsNewcastle Eagles
BBL Cup championsNewcastle Eagles
BBL Trophy championsNewcastle Eagles

Eleven teams took to the court for the League Championship, which saw each team play each other four times (Twice at home and twice on the road) during the regular season. This was followed by the end of season playoffs which began on 14 April 2006 and ended with Finals Weekend on 30 April 2006. One team change in the line-up saw the disappearance of long-time BBL member Thames Valley Tigers who were dissolved by the League after owner John Nike withdrew his financial backing.[1][2] A consortium of fans bid to save the team resulted in a new franchise being formed, the Guildford Heat who occupied Tigers' place in the Championship.[3]

The season will be best remembered for Newcastle Eagles's incredible "clean sweep" of trophies winning the Championship, BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and finishing it off with an impressive victory in the Play-off Final against Scottish Rocks.

Teams
Locations of the 2005–06 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Birmingham Bullets Birmingham North Solihull Sports Centre 1,000 11th
Brighton Bears Brighton Burgess Hill Triangle 1,800 5th
Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 1st
Guildford Heat Guildford Guildford Spectrum 1,100 New
Leicester Riders Leicester John Sanford Centre 800 10th
London Towers London Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 3,500 3rd
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 8th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 2nd
Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 9th
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 6th
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Ponds Forge 1,600 4th

Notable occurrences
  • Guildford Heat made their debut appearance in the BBL on 1 October 2005, losing in overtime 89–88 to Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena.
  • Newcastle Eagles' Managing Director Paul Blake succeeded Vince Macaulay-Razaq as the new chairman of the BBL prior to the season opening, emphasising that he will strengthen links with England Basketball to lay the foundations for a successful national team.
  • Newcastle picked up their first silverware of the season, with an 83–69 win over London Towers in the BBL Cup final at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham on 4 December. Eagles' TJ Walker was awarded MVP with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
  • Birmingham Bullets owner Craig Bown breached league regulations when, on 26 January, he cancelled Bullets' home game against Milton Keynes Lions in protest of the suspensions of player Yorrick Williams and coach Skouson Harker. Bullets were docked 1 point.[4]
  • Former NBA star Dennis Rodman made his debut for Brighton Bears on 28 January, only days after leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house. He scored 4 points in 26 minutes of play against Guildford.[5] Rodman went on to feature in three games for the Bears but later investigation found him to be ineligible and Brighton were docked 1 point by the league.[6]
  • The BBL Trophy was also won by Newcastle, who defeated Leicester Riders 71–50 at the SkyDome Arena in Coventry, on 5 February. Newcastle's Andrew Sullivan picked up the MVP with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Leicester's Tony Holley broke the record for the most rebounds in a BBL Trophy Final, bagging 19 in all and beating Alan Cunningham's previous best from 1991.[7][8]
  • Many clubs missed several of their top English players, who left for the 2006 Commonwealth Games which took place from 15 to 26 March. Peter Scantlebury MBE's England men's team returned hugely successful having defeated Nigeria 80–57 to bring home the bronze medal. The women's team also won bronze.

BBL Championships (Tier 1)

Final standings

Each team played each other four times during the regular league season, twice at home and twice on the road. A dominant Newcastle team claimed the League title, with one game to spare against second-placed Scottish Rocks, adding their third piece of silverware for the season.

In their rookie season Guildford Heat finished an impressive fifth, with a 20–20 record, while former heavyweights Brighton Bears and Birmingham Bullets struggled, finishing eighth and last respectively. Both teams were docked one point each, Brighton for fielding an ineligible player against Guildford,[6] while Birmingham owner Craig Bown breached league rules by cancelling the game against Milton Keynes Lions.[4]

PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Newcastle Eagles4030100.75060
2Scottish Rocks4029110.72558
3Sheffield Sharks4026140.65052
4London Towers4022180.55044
5Guildford Heat4020200.50040
6Leicester Riders4018220.45036
7Chester Jets4017230.42534
8Brighton Bears +4017230.42533
9Plymouth Raiders4016240.40032
10Milton Keynes Lions4016240.40032
11Birmingham Bullets ++409310.17517
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

+ Brighton Bears were docked 1 point for playing an ineligible player.
++ Birmingham Bullets were docked 1 point due to breach of League Regulations.

The Play-offs
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
1 Newcastle Eagles 78
8 Brighton Bears 74
1 Newcastle Eagles 115
5 Guildford Heat 97
4 London Towers 81
5 Guildford Heat 99
1 Newcastle Eagles 83
2 Scottish Rocks 68
2 Scottish Rocks 88
7 Chester Jets 70
2 Scottish Rocks 101
3 Sheffield Sharks 84
3 Sheffield Sharks 101
6 Leicester Riders 85

Quarter-finals
14 April 2006
Newcastle Eagles 78–74 Brighton Bears
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
15 April 2006
London Towers 81–99 Guildford Heat
15 April 2006
Scottish Rocks 88–70 Chester Jets

Semi-finals
29 April 2006
Newcastle Eagles 115–97 Guildford Heat
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
29 April 2006
Scottish Rocks 101–84 Sheffield Sharks
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Final
30 April 2006
Newcastle Eagles 83–68 Scottish Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 16–21, 25–10, 30–18
Pts: Charles Smith 22, Andrew Sullivan 19, Fab Flournoy 17 Pts: Julius Joseph 21, Frank Bennett 20, Jean François 10
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Worthing Thunder 262330.88546
2Reading Rockets 262240.84644
3City of Sheffield Arrows 262060.76940
4Manchester Magic 261970.73138
5Worcester Wolves 261790.65434
6Essex & Herts Leopards 261790.65434
7London United 2614120.53828
8Coventry Crusaders 2614120.53828
9Kingston Wildcats 2611150.42322
10Teesside Mohawks 268180.30816
11PAWS London Capital 266200.23112
12Solent Stars 264220.1548
13King's Lynn Fury 264220.1548
14Nottingham Knights 263230.1156
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1West Hertfordshire Warriors 221840.81836
2Mansfield Express 221750.77334
3Northampton Neptunes 2212100.54524
4Derby Trailblazers 2211110.50022
5Liverpool 2211110.50022
6Plymouth Raiders II 2211110.50022
7Birmingham Aston Athletics 2210120.45520
8Tamar Valley Cannons 2210120.45520
9Newi Nets 229130.40918
10Leicester Warriors 229130.40918
11Colchester Tigers 227150.31814
12Bath Romans 227150.31814
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

BBL Cup

First Round
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Guildford HeatLeicester Riders69-65
Scottish RocksBirmingham Bullets86-75
Milton Keynes LionsPlymouth Raiders84-66

Quarter Finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Chester JetsBrighton Bears94-82
Sheffield SharksScottish Rocks77-81 (OT)
London TowersMilton Keynes Lions81-66
Newcastle EaglesGuildford Heat82-63

Semi Finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Newcastle EaglesChester Jets95-68
London TowersScottish Rocks106-97 (OT)

Final
4 December 2005
Newcastle Eagles 83–69 London Towers
Pts: TJ Walker (MVP) 28, Jeremy Hyatt 18, Andrew Sullivan 18, Fab Flournoy 10, Darius Defoe 4, Andrew Bridge 3, John Bryant 2 Pts: Quincey Wadley 24, Lynard Stewart 16, Niki Arinze 16, Chez Marks 11, Sullivan Phillips 2
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Eagles coach Fab Flournoy
Towers coach Robbie Peers

BBL Trophy

Group stage

Semi Finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Newcastle EaglesScottish Rocks82-72
Guildford HeatLeicester Riders66-69

Final
5 February 2006
Newcastle Eagles 71–50 Leicester Riders
Pts: Andrew Sullivan 18 (MVP), TJ Walker 14, Andrew Bridge 14, Jeremy Hyatt 11, Charles Smith 7, Fab Flournoy 7
Rebs: Andrew Sullivan, 11		 Pts: Ryan Huntley 12, Deginald Erskine 12, Anthony McHenry 10, Steve Bucknall 7, Tony Holley 6, Joel Burns 3
Rebs: Tony Holley, 19
SkyDome Arena, Coventry
Attendance: ?
Eagles coach Fab Flournoy
Riders coach Karl Brown

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStat
Points per game Chez Marks (London Towers)22.1
Rebounds per game Shawn Jamison (Milton Keynes Lions)13.7
Assists per game TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles)8.1

References
  1. BBC Sport (2006). "Backer Nike quits Bees and Tigers". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  2. BBC Sport (2006). "Tigers fans fail to secure deal". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  3. "Heat on at Spectrum". getSurrey.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  4. Richard Taylor (28 January 2006). "Rodman becomes a Bear at close of the BBL's hardest week". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  5. BBC Sport (29 January 2006). "Rodman features in Brighton win". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. Richard Taylor (17 February 2006). "Basketball: Bears count Rodman cost". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  7. "Oh Boy! It's a Holley record". Daily Mirror. UK. 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  8. BBC Leicestershire (2006). "Eagles 71–50 Riders". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
Preceded by
2004–05 season		 BBL seasons
2005–06		 Succeeded by
2006–07 season
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