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1995–96 British Basketball League season

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Sports season
1995–96 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsLondon Towers
Playoffs championsBirmingham Bullets
National Cup championsLondon Towers
BBL Trophy championsLondon Towers
British Basketball League seasons
← 1994–951996–97 →

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.

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.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 London Towers 36 32 4 0.889 64
2 Sheffield Sharks 36 30 6 0.833 60
3 Birmingham Bullets 36 26 10 0.722 52
4 Leopards 36 23 13 0.638 46
5 Manchester Giants 36 21 15 0.583 42
6 Derby Storm 36 21 15 0.583 42
7 Worthing Bears 36 19 17 0.527 38
8 Thames Valley Tigers 36 16 20 0.444 32
9 Newcastle Comets 36 11 25 0.305 22
10 Leicester City Riders 36 11 25 0.305 22
11 Doncaster Panthers 36 10 26 0.278 20
12 Chester Jets 36 8 28 0.222 16
13 Hemel Royals 36 6 30 0.167 12
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

Quarter-finals

(1) London Towers vs. (8) Thames Valley Tigers

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

Worthing Bears 75–78 Sheffield Sharks
Sheffield Sharks 79–60 Worthing Bears
Sheffield win series, 2–0

(3) Birmingham Bullets vs. (6) Derby Storm

Derby Storm 78–92 Birmingham Bullets
Birmingham Bullets 96–88 Derby Storm
Birmingham win series, 2–0

(4) Leopards vs. (5) Manchester Giants

Manchester Giants 72–76 (OT) Leopards
Leopards 74–83 Manchester Giants
Leopards 73–75 Manchester Giants
Manchester win series, 2–1

Semi-finals

London Towers 95–86 Manchester Giants
Wembley Arena, London
Sheffield Sharks 68–82 Birmingham Bullets
Wembley Arena, London

Final

Sky Sports 1
5 May 1996
19:00
Birmingham Bullets 78–72 London Towers
Scoring by quarter: –, 43–45, 17–15, 18–12
Pts: Nigel Lloyd 23, Dorsey 22, Gordon 12
MVP: Tony Dorsey		 Pts: Windless 19, Bucknall/Lewis 13
Wembley Arena, London
Attendance: ?
Birmingham Coach Nick Nurse
London Coach Kevin Cadle

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Crystal Palace 22 22 0 1.000 44
2 Coventry Crusaders 22 19 3 0.864 38
3 Ware Rebels * 22 17 5 0.773 33
4 Cardiff Phoenix 22 14 8 0.636 28
5 Bury Wildcats 22 10 12 0.455 20
6 Stockton Mohawks 22 10 12 0.455 20
7 Brixton TopCats 22 9 13 0.409 18
8 Mid-Sussex Magic 22 9 13 0.409 18
9 Nottingham Knights 22 7 15 0.318 14
10 Plymouth Raiders 22 7 15 0.318 14
11 Oldham Celtics 22 5 17 0.227 10
12 Solent Stars 22 3 19 0.136 6
= 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

3 March 1996
London Towers 70–58 Sheffield Sharks
Pts: Martin Henlan (MVP), Neville Austin, Roger Dulhaney, Tony Windless, Danny Lewis, Steve Bucknall Pts: Roger Huggins, Todd Cauthorn
Sheffield Arena
Attendance: ?
London Coach Kevin Cadle
Sheffield Coach Jim Brandon

7 Up Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Derby Storm 8 4 4 0 1.000
2.Chester Jets 4 4 2 2 0.500
3.Doncaster Panthers 4 4 2 2 0.500
4.Leicester City Riders 2 4 1 3 0.250
5.Newcastle Comets 2 4 1 3 0.250

Southern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Worthing Bears 6 3 3 0 1.000
2.Birmingham Bullets 4 3 2 1 0.667
3.Leopards 2 3 1 2 0.333
4.Hemel Royals 0 3 0 3 0.000

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

Chester Jets 89–108 Birmingham Bullets
Birmingham Bullets 92–89 Chester Jets
Birmingham win on aggregate, 200–178

Manchester Giants vs. Sheffield Sharks

Manchester Giants 78–81 Sheffield Sharks
Sheffield Sharks 77–66 Manchester Giants
Sheffield win on aggregate, 158–144

Thames Valley Tigers vs. London Towers

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

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

London Towers 64–62 Birmingham Bullets
Birmingham Bullets 75–92 London Towers
London win on aggregate, 156–137

Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks

Worthing Bears 86–87 Sheffield Sharks
Sheffield Sharks 69–72 Worthing Bears
Worthing win on aggregate, 158–156

Final

13 January 1996
London Towers 90–84 Worthing Bears
Pts: Tony Windless (MVP), Steve Bucknall, Danny Lewis, Martin Henlan, Roger Duhaney Pts: Colin Irish
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
London Coach Kevin Cadle
Worthing Coach Colin Irish

Seasonal awards

References

  1. "Nicholas Harling. "Basketball shooting high as TV returns." Times [London, England] 9 Sept. 1995". The Times Digital Archive.
  2. BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 11
  3. "Nicholas Harling. "Bullets triggered by Dorsey's power." Times [London, England] 6 May 1996". The Times Digital Archive.
  4. "Nicholas Harling. "Towers stay on track for a clean sweep." Times [London, England] 4 Mar. 1996". The Times Digital Archive.
  5. ""Towers leave it late to rise to the challenge." Times [London, England] 15 Jan. 1996". The Times Digital Archive.
Preceded by1994–95 season BBL seasons
1995–96 		Succeeded by1996–97 season
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