2004–05 British Basketball League season
The 2004–2005 season was the 18th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League, which commenced on 2 October 2004, and ended with Newcastle Eagles' win in the Play-off Final on 1 May 2005. Eagles won their first piece of silverware in 13 years with victories in the Play-offs and the BBL Trophy, against Brighton Bears on their home court at The Brighton Centre.[1]
The League saw the addition of a new franchise for the first time in eight years – when Edinburgh Rocks joined in 1998 – with Plymouth Raiders stepping up from the English Basketball League Division 1.
Teams
Locations of the 2004–05 BBL teams
Team |
City/Area |
Arena |
Capacity |
Last season |
Birmingham Bullets |
Birmingham |
North Solihull Sports Centre |
1,000 |
10th |
Brighton Bears |
Brighton |
Brighton Centre & Burgess Hill Triangle |
3,600 1,800 |
1st |
Chester Jets |
Chester |
Northgate Arena |
1,000 |
5th |
Leicester Riders |
Leicester |
John Sanford Centre |
800 |
9th |
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 |
Telewest Arena |
6,500 |
6th |
Plymouth Raiders |
Plymouth |
Plymouth Pavilions |
1,480 |
New |
Scottish Rocks |
Glasgow |
Braehead Arena |
4,000 |
4th |
Sheffield Sharks |
Sheffield |
Hallam FM Arena & Ponds Forge |
8,500 1,600 |
2nd |
Thames Valley Tigers |
Bracknell |
John Nike Sports Centre |
1,000 |
7th |
Notable occurrences
- Following the withdrawal of major sponsor, Brighton Bears pulled out of the FIBA Europe League just weeks before the start of the tournament, meaning that no British teams would be competing in European competition for the current season.[2]
- Plymouth Raiders played, and won, their first game in the BBL on 2 October 2004, beating the visiting Milton Keynes Lions in a low-scoring game that finished 63–46 in favour of the rookies.[3]
- The first piece of silverware up for gabs, the BBL Cup, was won by Brighton Bears after defeating Scottish Rocks, 90–74 in the Final at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham.
- Newcastle Eagles won their first title in 13 years after upsetting Brighton in the BBL Trophy Final, which was played at The Brighton Centre. Eagles ran out 85–60 winners in a very one-sided spectacle.
- Leicester riders moved back to the city of Leicester after securing a venue and sponsorship with dmu
BBL championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
|
= League winners |
|
= Qualified for the Play-offs |
The Play-offs
| Quarter-finals
| | | Semi-finals
| | | Final
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
| 1
| Chester Jets
| 81
| |
|
| 8
| Milton Keynes Lions
| 71
| |
| | 1
| Chester Jets
| 74
| |
|
|
| | 6
| Scottish Rocks
| 72
| |
| 3
| London Towers
| 63
| |
| |
| 6
| Scottish Rocks
| 65
| |
| | 1
| Chester Jets
| 75
| |
|
|
| | 2
| Newcastle Eagles
| 78
| |
| 2
| Newcastle Eagles
| 105
| | |
| |
| 7
| Thames Valley Tigers
| 72
| |
| | 2
| Newcastle Eagles
| 75
| |
|
|
| | 4
| Sheffield Sharks
| 65
| |
| 4
| Sheffield Sharks
| 91
| |
| |
| 5
| Brighton Bears
| 56
| |
|
|
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings
|
= League winners |
|
= Qualified for the Play-offs |
EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings
|
= League winners |
|
= Qualified for the Play-offs |
BBL Cup
First Round
Quarter Finals
Semi Finals
Final
Brighton Bears |
90–74 |
Scottish Rocks |
Pts: Andrew Alleyne (MVP) 27, Ryan Huntley 22, Tony Holley 14, Steve Lepore 8, Yorick Williams 8, Ajou Deng 8, Rahdi Knapp 3 |
|
Pts: Donald Cole 22, Tony Windless 13, Adrian Henning 10, Lamont McIntosh 10, Philip Perre 10, Roni Gordon 6, Dan Wardrope 3 |
BBL Trophy
Group stage
Northern Group 1
Southern Group 1
|
Northern Group 2
Southern Group 2
|
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics leaders
References
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