2008–09 British Basketball League season

2008–2009 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	Everton Tigers
BBL Trophy champions	Newcastle Eagles

The 2008-2009 season was the 22nd campaign in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL), which commenced on September 14, 2008 with the Cup Winners' Cup. The regular season began a week later with 12 teams competing, though a line-up change saw the Birmingham Panthers withdraw and fold during close season and the inclusion of Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League.

Newcastle Eagles continued their dominance of Britain's basketball scene, scooping up the League title, the Play-off crown and the BBL Trophy, beating rivals Guildford Heat 71-83 at the Guildford Spectrum. After a promising rookie season for Everton Tigers in 2007-08, the Merseyside team came of age in their sophomore year, finishing as runners-up in the League and the Play-offs whilst entering the record books for their 103-49 win in the BBL Cup Final against Plymouth Raiders, the biggest winning margin (54 points) in BBL history and lowest ever score conceded in a Final.^[1]

This season also saw the return of the BBL All-Star game, which was played as a warm-up to the Play-off Grand Final. Two select-teams - the British All-Stars and the Rest of the World All-Stars - were pitted together using a selection of players from across the League, with the Rest of the World team narrowly winning 117-124.

Teams

Jets

Tigers

Heat

Riders

Capital

Lions

Eagles

Raiders

Rocks

Sharks

Wolves

Thunder

Locations of the 2008-09 BBL teams

Team	City/Area	Arena	Capacity	Last season
Cheshire Jets	Chester	Northgate Arena	1,000	11th
Everton Tigers	Liverpool	Echo Arena & Greenbank Sports Academy	7,513 600	7th
Guildford Heat	Guildford	Guildford Spectrum	1,100	2nd
Leicester Riders	Leicester	John Sandford Centre	800	10th
London Capital	London	Capital City Academy	300	9th
Milton Keynes Lions	Milton Keynes	Bletchley Centre	800	4th
Newcastle Eagles	Newcastle upon Tyne	Metro Radio Arena	6,500	1st
Plymouth Raiders	Plymouth	Plymouth Pavilions	1,480	3rd
Scottish Rocks	Glasgow	Kelvin Hall	1,200	5th
Sheffield Sharks	Sheffield	English Institute of Sport	1,200	6th
Worcester Wolves	Worcester	University of Worcester	600	8th
Worthing Thunder	Worthing	Worthing Leisure Centre	1,000	New

Notable occurrences

• Following a disastrous rookie campaign and lack of investment the Birmingham Panthers franchise folded during the close season and would not return for the 2008-09 season.^[2]
• The gap vacated by Panthers was subsequently occupied by Worthing Thunder who stepped up from the English Basketball League Division 1.^[3] Though their application was accepted before the Panthers folded, Worthing were one of two South-coast franchises bidding for a place in the BBL, with an unsuccessful bid coming from Brighton Cougars.^[4]
• The second edition of the Cup Winners' Cup saw Guildford Heat sweep away the honours yet again with a closely fought two-game series against last season's BBL Cup winners Milton Keynes Lions. Heat ran out victors with a 159-149 aggregate score.^[5]

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. Newcastle Eagles	56	33	28	5	0.848
2. Everton Tigers	48	33	24	9	0.727
3. Leicester Riders	42	33	21	12	0.636
4. Guildford Heat	42	33	21	12	0.636
5. Plymouth Raiders	40	33	20	13	0.606
6. Sheffield Sharks	32	33	16	17	0.484
7. Scottish Rocks	32	33	16	17	0.484
8. Cheshire Jets	30	33	15	18	0.454
9. Milton Keynes Lions	28	33	14	19	0.424
10. Worcester Wolves	22	33	11	22	0.333
11. Worthing Thunder	20	33	10	23	0.303
12. London Capital	4	33	2	31	0.060

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	1	Newcastle Eagles	88
	8	Cheshire Jets	83
						1	Newcastle Eagles	93
						5	Plymouth Raiders	71
	4	Guildford Heat	81
	5	Plymouth Raiders	89
											1	Newcastle Eagles	87
											2	Everton Tigers	84
	2	Everton Tigers	84
	7	Scottish Rocks	64
						2	Everton Tigers	81
						3	Leicester Riders	65
	3	Leicester Riders	72
	6	Sheffield Sharks	71

Quarter-finals

April 22, 2009

Leicester Riders

72–71

Sheffield Sharks

John Sandford Centre, Leicester

April 24, 2009

Newcastle Eagles

88–83

Cheshire Jets

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

April 24, 2009

Everton Tigers

84–64

Scottish Rocks

Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool

April 26, 2009

Guildford Heat

81–89

Plymouth Raiders

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

Semi-finals

May 2, 2009

Newcastle Eagles

93–71

Plymouth Raiders

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

May 2, 2009

Everton Tigers

81–65

Leicester Riders

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Final

May 3, 2009 3.30pm GMT

Report

Newcastle Eagles	87–84	Everton Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 36-17, 15-23, 19-12, 17-32
Pts: Trey Moore 22, Reggie Jackson 19, Darius Defoe 18, Charles Smith 8, Fab Flournoy 7, Tafari Toney 7, Andrew Bridge 6		Pts: Richard Midgley 36, Olu Babalola 25, Marcus Bailey 8, Josh Gross 6, Tony Dorsey 5, Chris Haslam 2, James Jones 2

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Cup Winners' Cup

The Cup Winners' Cup was contested between the winners of the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy from the previous season. Guildford were winners of the Trophy and Milton Keynes were winners of the Cup. The tournament was played over two-legs - one at each home arena - and the winner decided by a total aggregae score from both games.

First Leg

September 14, 2008 3.00pm GMT

Report

Guildford Heat	91–89	Milton Keynes Lions
Scoring by quarter: 29-27, 24-24, 16-17, 22-21
Pts: Yorick Williams, 23		Pts: Brad Jones, 20

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

Second Leg

September 19, 2008 7.30pm GMT

Report

Milton Keynes Lions	60–68	Guildford Heat
Scoring by quarter: 9-18, 22-20, 11-13, 18-17
Pts: Robert Youngblood, 14 Rebs: Robert Youngblood, 10		Pts: Keonta Howell, 18 Rebs: Keonta Howell, 11

Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes

Guildford Heat win 159-149 on aggregate scoring.

EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L
1. Reading Rockets	36	18	18	0
2. Manchester Magic	30	18	15	3
3. London Leopards	24	18	12	6
4. City of Sheffield Arrows	20	18	10	8
5. Bristol Academy Flyers	18	18	9	9
6. Coventry Crusaders	16	18	8	10
7. Tees Valley Mohawks	16	18	8	10
8. Derby Trailblazers	10	18	5	13
9. Cardiff Celts	6	18	3	15
10. Taunton Tigers	4	18	2	16

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L
1. Leeds Carnegie	36	22	18	4
2. London Mets	34	22	17	5
3. Leicester Warriors	30	22	15	7
4. Birmingham A's	28	22	14	8
5. Kent Crusaders	26	22	13	9
6. Team Northumbria	24	22	12	10
7. Plymouth Raiders B	20	22	10	12
8. Newi Nets	20	22	10	12
9. Colchester Hornets	16	22	8	14
10. Plymouth Marjon Cannons	162	22	8	14
11. Northampton Neptunes	10	22	5	17
12. University of Birmingham	4	22	2	20

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

BBL Cup

Of the 12 competing teams in this season's BBL Cup, eight entered into the First Round while the top-four ranked teams from last season's Championship - Guildford Heat, Milton Keynes Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Plymouth Raiders - received byes into the Quarter-finals, where they would also receive home-court advantage.

First Round

October 18, 2008

Leicester Riders

99–75

Worthing Thunder

John Sandford Centre, Leicester

October 20, 2008

Worcester Wolves

80–89

Sheffield Sharks

University of Worcester, Worcester

October 20, 2008

Scottish Rocks

69–88

Everton Tigers

Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

October 20, 2008

Cheshire Jets

88–73

London Capital

Northgate Arena, Cheshire

Quarter-finals

October 26, 2008

Plymouth Raiders

101–76

Leicester Riders

Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth

October 29, 2008

Guildford Heat

78–74

Sheffield Sharks

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

October 31, 2008

Newcastle Eagles

112–92

Cheshire Jets

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

November 2, 2008

Milton Keynes Lions

75–97

Everton Tigers

Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes

Semi-finals 1st Leg

November 23, 2008

Guildford Heat

73–88

Plymouth Raiders

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

November 29, 2008

Newcastle Eagles

112–105

Everton Tigers

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

Semi-finals 2nd Leg

November 26, 2008

Plymouth Raiders

74–69

Guildford Heat

Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth

December 5, 2008

Everton Tigers

97–86

Newcastle Eagles

Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool

Plymouth Raiders win 162-142 on aggregate and Everton Tigers win 202-198 on aggregate.

Final

January 18, 2009 3.30pm GMT

Report

Plymouth Raiders	49–103	Everton Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 11-20, 11-30, 6-22, 21-31
Pts: Gaylon Moore 19, Andrew Lasker 9, Allister Gall 8, Kwbana Beckles 5, Terrence Durham 4, James Noel 4		Pts: Andre Smith 26, Marcus Bailey 26, Richard Midgley 16, James Jones 11, Olu Babalola 11, Delm Herriman 7

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

BBL Trophy

The First Round of the BBL Trophy uses its usually round-robin format with the 12 competing teams divided into four regionalised groups with the winner of each group then advancing to a two-legged Semi-final encounter and progress to the Final being determined by a total aggregate score.

Group Stage

Group 1 Team Pts Pld W L Percent 1.Newcastle Eagles 6 4 3 1 0.750 2.Sheffield Sharks 4 4 2 2 0.500 3.Scottish Rocks 2 4 1 3 0.250 Group 3 Team Pts Pld W L Percent 1.Guildford Heat 8 4 4 0 1.000 2.Milton Keynes Lions 4 4 2 2 0.500 3.London Capital 0 4 0 4 0.000

Group 2 Team Pts Pld W L Percent 1.Everton Tigers 8 4 4 0 1.000 2.Cheshire Jets 4 4 2 2 0.500 3.Leicester Riders 0 4 0 4 0.000 Group 4 Team Pts Pld W L Percent 1.Plymouth Raiders 6 4 3 1 0.750 2.Worcester Wolves 4 4 2 2 0.500 3.Worthing Thunder 2 4 1 3 0.250

Semi-finals 1st Leg

February 14, 2009

Plymouth Raiders

76–97

Guildford Heat

Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth

February 17, 2009

Everton Tigers

82–88

Newcastle Eagles

Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool

Semi-finals 2nd Leg

February 18, 2009

Guildford Heat

90–85

Plymouth Raiders

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

February 20, 2009

Newcastle Eagles

88–77

Everton Tigers

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

Guildford Heat win 187-161 on aggregate and Newcastle Eagles win 176-159 on aggregate.

Final

March 15, 2009 3.15pm GMT

Report

Guildford Heat	71–83	Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 21-17, 21-22, 12-23, 17-21
Pts: Keonta Howell 30, Michael Martin 12, Kabir Abu 9		Pts: Trey Moore (MVP) 28, Andrew Bridge 17, Reggie Jackson 13, Darius Defoe 11, Tafari Toney 10

Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

All-Star Game

May 5, 2009 1.30pm GMT

Great Britain All-Stars	117–124	Rest of the World All-Stars
Scoring by quarter: 33-33, 22-27, 34-40, 28-24
Pts: Chris Sanders, 30 Rebs: Chris Sanders, 9 Asts: Anthony Martin, 7		Pts: Andrew Lasker, 22 Rebs: Frank Phiffer, 9 Asts: Ryan Patton, 4

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Great Britain All-Stars Num. Player Team Starters 5 Yorick Williams Milton Keynes Lions 12 Anthony Martin Plymouth Raiders 15 Barry Lamble Leicester Riders 20 Gaylon Moore Plymouth Raiders 22 Mike Martin Guildford Heat Reserves 4 Daniel Hildreth Worthing Thunder 8 Darren Mills London Capital 9 Steven Gayle Cheshire Jets 10 Daniel Sandell Guildford Heat 11 Dru Spinks Milton Keynes Lions 14 Chris Sanders Sheffield Sharks 21 Ibrahim Gariba London Capital

Rest of the World All-Stars Num. Player Team Starters 4 Ryan Patton Worthing Thunder 10 Duane James Leicester Riders 11 Andrew Lasker Plymouth Raiders 21 Harry Disy Worcester Wolves 23 Matt Gorman Sheffield Sharks Reserves 5 Bradd Wierzbicki Leicester Riders 7 Keonta Howell Guildford Heat 8 Janis Ivanokskis Worthing Thunder 12 Vidmantas Uzkuraitis Worcester Wolves 14 DeAntoine Beasley Plymouth Raiders 20 Chad McKnight Guildford Heat 22 Frank Phiffer Cheshire Jets

Seasonal awards

• Most Valuable Player: Trey Moore (Newcastle)
• Coach of the Year: Rob Paternostro (Leicester)
• All-Star First Team:
  • Trey Moore (Newcastle)
  • Andre Smith (Everton)
  • Keonta Howell (Guildford)
  • Robert Yanders (Scots Rocks)
  • Tommy Swanson (Leicester)
• All-Star Second Team:
  • Mike Martin (Guildford)
  • Josh Gross (Everton)
  • Andrew Lasker (Plymouth)
  • Anthony Paez (Worcester)
  • Chris Sanders (Sheffield)

References

1. James Pearce (2008). "Tigers power to victory in final flourish". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
2. Colin Tattum (2008). "Panthers fold as BBL pull the plug". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
3. BBC Sport (May 21, 2008). "Worthing Thunder set to join BBL". BBC. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
4. Brian Owen (2008). "Thunder invited into top-flight". The Argus. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
5. Richard Spiller (2008). "Heat win Cup Winners' Cup". getSurrey.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-08.