1997–98 British Basketball League season

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1997–98 British Basketball League season
League British Basketball League
Sport Basketball
Roll of Honour
BBL champions Greater London Leopards
Play Off's champions Birmingham Bullets
National Cup champions Thames Valley Tigers
BBL Trophy champions Sheffield Sharks
British Basketball League seasons
← 1996-97
1998-99 →

The 1997–1998 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured the same 13 teams as the previous year, playing 36 games each. The only change saw the Hemel Royals renamed the Watford Royals.

Greater London Leopards clinched their second successive Budweiser League title only by virtue of an overtime win in their final game of the season against Sheffield Sharks. Leopards' 102–106 victory in Sheffield meant they finished level on points with title-rivals Birmingham Bullets, but were crowned Champions due to a better head-to-head record over the Midlands team. Birmingham gained some consolation by taking their second Play-off Championship in three years at Wembley Arena, beating off a tough challenge from Thames Valley Tigers, winning 78–75. The Thames Valley Tigers won the National Cup and the Sheffield claimed their first uni-ball Trophy with an 82–79 win over London Towers at the National Exhibition Centre.

London Towers represented the Budweiser League in European competition, participating in the EuroCup.

Notable occurrences

  • Greater London Leopards won the League title in the final game of the season on April 5, 1998, with an 102–106 overtime victory at Sheffield Sharks. Regulation time ended on 90–90, but Leopards' Eric Burks sunk 9 of their 16 overtime points to win the title for the second successive season.[1]

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Team Pts Pld W L Percentage
1. Greater London Leopards 58 36 29 7 0.806
2. Birmingham Bullets 58 36 29 7 0.806
3. Newcastle Eagles 50 36 25 11 0.694
4. Sheffield Sharks 50 36 25 11 0.694
5. Thames Valley Tigers 48 36 24 12 0.666
6. London Towers 46 36 23 13 0.638
7. Derby Storm 32 36 16 20 0.444
8. Manchester Giants 30 36 15 21 0.416
9. Leicester Riders 30 36 15 21 0.416
10. Chester Jets 30 36 15 21 0.416
11. Crystal Palace 16 36 8 28 0.222
12. Worthing Bears 14 36 7 29 0.194
13. Watford Royals 6 36 3 33 0.083
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

Quarter-finals

(1) Greater London Leopards vs. (8) Manchester Giants

April 14, 1998
Manchester Giants 86–93 Greater London Leopards
April 16, 1998
Greater London Leopards 98–107 Manchester Giants
April 19, 1998
Greater London Leopards 81–90 Manchester Giants
Manchester wins series, 2–1

(2) Birmingham Bullets vs. (7) Derby Storm

April 11, 1998
Derby Storm 79–111 Birmingham Bullets
April 14, 1998
Birmingham Bullets 84–86 (OT) Derby Storm
April 19, 1998
Birmingham Bullets 96–81 Derby Storm
Birmingham wins series, 2–1

(3) Newcastle Eagles vs. (6) London Towers

April 12, 1998
London Towers 68–63 Newcastle Eagles
April 14, 1998
Newcastle Eagles 73–50 London Towers
April 19, 1998
Newcastle Eagles 85–87 London Towers
London wins series, 2–1

(4) Sheffield Sharks vs. (5) Thames Valley Tigers

April 11, 1998
Thames Valley Tigers 84–83 Sheffield Sharks
April 14, 1998
Sheffield Sharks 75–97 Thames Valley Tigers
Thames Valley wins series, 2–0

Semi-finals

May 2, 1998
Birmingham Bullets 90–80 Manchester Giants
May 2, 1998
Thames Valley Tigers 78–71 London Towers

Third-place game

May 3, 1998
Manchester Giants 87–82 London Towers

Final

May 3, 1998
Birmingham Bullets 78–75 Thames Valley Tigers
Pts: Tony Dorsey (MVP) 28, Reggie Kirk 18, Nigel Lloyd 16, HL Coleman, Fab Flournoy
Rebs: Lloyd 9		 Pts: John McCord 24, Dameon Page 19, Tony Holley 13, Casey Arena, Jason Siemon, Adrian Cummings
Rebs: Holley 13
Wembley Arena, London
Attendance: ?
Bullets coach Mike Finger
Tigers coach Paul James


National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

Team Pts Pld W L Percentage
1. Richmond Jaguars 40 22 20 2 0.958
2. Plymouth Raiders 38 22 19 3 0.864
3. Stevenage Rebels 32 22 16 6 0.727
4. Teesside Mohawks 28 22 14 8 0.636
5. Solihull Chiefs 26 22 13 9 0.591
6. Coventry Crusaders 26 22 13 9 0.591
7. Guildford Pumas 20 22 10 12 0.455
8. Oxford Devils 18 22 9 13 0.409
9. Westminster Warriors 12 22 6 16 0.273
10. Cardiff Phoenix 8 22 4 18 0.182
11. Mid-Sussex Magic 8 22 4 18 0.182
12. Brixton TopCats 8 22 4 18 0.182
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Richmond 82 Plymouth 67


National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Team Pts Pld W L Percentage
1. Solent Stars 46 24 23 1 0.962
2. Cardiff Clippers 40 24 20 4 0.833
3. London Towers B 38 24 19 5 0.792
4. South Bank University Bulls 28 24 14 10 0.583
5. Bournemouth Dolphins 28 24 14 10 0.583
6. Wolverhampton 24 24 12 12 0.500
7.Flintshire Flyers 22 24 11 13 0.458
8. Northampton 89'ers 20 24 10 14 0.417
9. Slough Chargers 18 24 9 15 0.375
10. Liverpool Atac 18 24 9 15 0.375
11. Swindon Sonics 18 24 9 15 0.375
12. Chessington Wildcats 10 24 5 18 0.208
13. Thames Valley Tigers B 2 24 1 23 0.042
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Solent 70 London Towers 68


Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth Round

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Worthing Bears Crystal Palace 106-102
Coventry Crusaders Thames Valley Tigers 67-91
Stevenage Rebels Manchester Giants 60-93
Leicester Riders Newcastle Eagles 94-76
Leopards Derby Storm 99-90
Sheffield Sharks Watford Royals 85-70
Plymouth Raiders London Towers 77-99
Chester Jets Birmingham Bullets

Quarter Finals

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Sheffield Sharks Leicester Riders 66-69
London Towers Manchester Giants 75-67
Birmingham Bullets Worthing Bears 111-80
Thames Valley Tigers Leopards 97-89

Semi Finals

Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Thames Valley Tigers Birmingham Bullets 63-55 63-70
London Towers Leicester Riders 76-74 84-90

Final

17 January 1998[2]
Thames Valley Tigers 82–78 Leicester Riders
Pts: John McCord 27, Dameon Page 18, Casey Arena 14, Jason Siemon 14, Tony Holley Pts: Billy Singleton 24, Gene Waldron 21, JaRon Boone 12, James Havrilla, Geno Ford
Sheffield Arena
Attendance: ?
Tigers coach Paul James
Riders coach Bob Donewald


uni-ball Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Newcastle Eagles 6 5 3 2 0.600
2.Leicester Riders 6 5 3 2 0.600
3.Manchester Giants 6 5 3 2 0.600
4.Sheffield Sharks 4 5 2 3 0.400
5.Chester Jets 4 5 2 3 0.400
6.Derby Storm 4 5 2 3 0.400

Southern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Gtr. London Leopards 10 5 5 0 1.000
2.Thames Valley Tigers 6 5 3 2 0.600
3.Birmingham Bullets 6 5 3 2 0.600
4.Watford Royals 4 5 2 3 0.400
5.Crystal Palace 4 5 2 3 0.400
6.Worthing Bears 0 5 0 5 0.000

Sheffield finished ahead of Chester and Derby by having the best record in matches between the three teams and qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record ahead of Watford on basket difference. London Towers received a bye into Quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

Greater London Leopards vs. Thames Valley Tigers

January 14, 1998
Greater London Leopards 83–79 Thames Valley Tigers
January 21, 1998
Thames Valley Tigers 87–95 Greater London Leopards
Greater London wins on aggregate, 178–166

London Towers vs. Manchester Giants

January 14, 1998
London Towers 90–69 Manchester Giants
January 21, 1998
Manchester Giants 69–69 London Towers
London wins on aggregate, 159–138

Newcastle Eagles vs. Birmingham Bullets

January 13, 1998
Newcastle Eagles 70–66 Birmingham Bullets
January 24, 1998
Birmingham Bullets 86–95 Newcastle Eagles
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 165–152

Sheffield Sharks vs. Leicester Riders

January 13, 1998
Sheffield Sharks 97–94 Leicester Riders
January 21, 1998
Leicester Riders 83–99 Sheffield Sharks
London wins on aggregate, 196–177

Semi-finals

London Towers vs. Newcastle Eagles

February 3, 1998
London Towers 92–74 Newcastle Eagles
February 13, 1998
Newcastle Eagles 89–89 London Towers
London wins on aggregate, 181–163

Sheffield Sharks vs. Greater London Leopards

February 4, 1998
Sheffield Sharks 103–85 Greater London Leopards
February 12, 1998
Greater London Leopards 90–82 Sheffield Sharks
Sheffield wins on aggregate, 185–175

Final

March 8, 1998
Sheffield Sharks 82–79 London Towers
Pts: John Amaechi (MVP) 40, Terrell Myers, Mark Robinson, Wilbur Johnson
Rebs: John Amaechi, 16		 Pts: Danny Lewis 23, Keith Robinson, James Hamilton, Neville Austin, Marco Baldi, Tamir Berkovitch
Rebs: Keith Robinson, 13
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Sharks coach Chris Finch
Towers coach Kevin Cadle

Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game

March 22, 1998
7.05pm GMT
Northern All-Stars 168–175 Southern All-Stars
Pts: Leon McGee, 25 Pts: John White, 32

Statistics leaders

Category Player Stat
Points per game United States Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) 26.09
Rebounds per game United States Makeba Perry (Greater London Leopards) 11.81
Assists per game Jamaica Cleave Lewis (Watford Royals) 5.78
Steals per game United States Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) 3.11
Blocks per game Canada Brendan Graves (Derby Storm) 2.77

Seasonal awards

References

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Preceded by BBL seasons
1997–98		 Succeeded by
1998–99 season
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