2005–06 British Basketball League season

2005–2006 British Basketball League season
League British Basketball League
Sport Basketball
Roll of Honour
BBL champions Newcastle Eagles
Play Off's champions Newcastle Eagles
BBL Cup champions Newcastle Eagles
BBL Trophy champions Newcastle Eagles

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.

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

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 silverwear 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]

TeamPtsPldWLPercentage
1. Newcastle Eagles 604030100.750
2. Scottish Rocks 584029110.725
3. Sheffield Sharks 524026140.650
4. London Towers 444022180.550
5. Guildford Heat 404020200.500
6. Leicester Riders 364018220.450
7. Chester Jets 344017230.425
8. Brighton Bears* 334017230.425
9. Plymouth Raiders 324016240.400
10. Milton Keynes Lions 324016240.400
11. Birmingham Bullets** 17407310.175
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

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

Semi-finals

Final

30 April 2006
Newcastle Eagles 8368 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 Francois 10


EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

TeamPtsPldWL
1. Worthing Thunder 4626233
2. Reading Rockets 4426224
3. City of Sheffield Arrows 4026206
4. Manchester Magic 3826197
5. Worcester Wolves 3426179
6. Essex & Herts Leopards 3426179
7. London United 28261412
8. Coventry Crusaders 28261412
9. Kingston Wildcats 22261115
10. Teesside Mohawks 1626818
11. PAWS London Capital 1226620
12. Solent Stars 826422
13. Kings Lynn Fury 826422
14. Nottingham Knights 626323
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs


EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

TeamPtsPldWL
1. West Hertfordshire Warriors 3622184
2. Mansfield Express 3422175
3. Northampton Neptunes 24221210
4. Derby Trailblazers 22221111
5. Liverpool Basketball Club 22221111
6. Plymouth Raiders B 22221111
7. Birmingham Aston Athletics 20221012
8. Tamar Valley Cannons 20221012
9. Newi Nets 1822913
10. Leicester Warriors 1822913
11. Colchester Tigers 1422715
12. Bath Romans 1422715
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs


BBL Cup

First Round

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Guildford Heat Leicester Riders 69-65
Scottish Rocks Birmingham Bullets 86-75
Milton Keynes Lions Plymouth Raiders 84-66

Quarter Finals

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Chester Jets Brighton Bears 94-82
Sheffield Sharks Scottish Rocks 77-81 (OT)
London Towers Milton Keynes Lions 81-66
Newcastle Eagles Guildford Heat 82-63

Semi Finals

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Newcastle Eagles Chester Jets 95-68
London Towers Scottish Rocks 106-97 (OT)

Final

4 December 2005
Newcastle Eagles 8369 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

Northern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Newcastle Eagles 8
2.Scottish Rocks 8
3.Sheffield Sharks 8
4.Chester Jets 8
5.Teesside Mohawks 8

Midlands Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Leicester Riders 8
2.Birmingham Bullets 8
3.London Towers 8
4.Milton Keynes Lions 8
5.Essex & Herts Leopards 8

Southern Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Guildford Heat 8
2.Brighton Bears 8
3.Plymouth Raiders 8
4.Worthing Thunder 8
5.London United 8


Semi Finals

Team 1 Team 2 Score
Newcastle Eagles Scottish Rocks 82-72
Guildford Heat Leicester Riders 66-69

Final

5 February 2006
Newcastle Eagles 7150 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 gameUnited States Chez Marks (London Towers) 22.1
Rebounds per game United States Shawn Jamison (Milton Keynes Lions) 13.7
Assists per game United States 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. 1 2 Richard Taylor (28 January 2006). "Rodman becomes a Bear at close of the BBL's hardest week". The Independent (London). Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  5. BBC Sport (29 January 2006). "Rodman features in Brighton win". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. 1 2 Richard Taylor (17 February 2006). "Basketball: Bears count Rodman cost". The Independent (London). 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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