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1988–89 British Basketball League season

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1988–89 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Number of teams11
Roll of Honour
BBL championsGlasgow Rangers
Play-off's championsGlasgow Rangers
National Cup championsBracknell Tigers
BBL Trophy championsBracknell Tigers
British Basketball League seasons

The 1988–89 BBL season was the second season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons) since its establishment in 1987. The season featured a total of 11 teams, playing 20 games each. The league had suffered in the 1989 close season because Portsmouth was wound up followed by Calderdale Explorers and Birmingham Bullets both dropping out of the league. Bolton and Bury Giants became the Olympic City Giants and Kingston moved north of the border playing as Glasgow Rangers. The new season was supposed to feature 12 teams, however Oldham Celtics dropped out of the league and into the National League (Tier 2) after just one game, due to financial difficulties.

The season was dominated by the success of the league's two Scottish teams Glasgow Rangers and Livingston, who finished the regular season in first and second place respectively.[1] Glasgow's Kevin Cadle and Alan Cunningham were also named as the league's Coach and Player of the year, however the Scottish dominance was broken by Bracknell Tigers who were victorious in the League Trophy against Livingston in the Final.

Below the Carlsberg League in the National League Division 1, it came as no surprise that Oldham Celtics sealed the title bearing in mind that they had originally planned to play in the top tier.

Carlsberg League (Tier 1)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Glasgow Rangers 20 18 2 0.900 36
2 Livingston 20 16 4 0.800 32
3 Bracknell Tigers 20 15 5 0.750 30
4 Leicester City Riders 20 14 6 0.700 28
5 Manchester Eagles 20 13 7 0.650 26
6 Sunderland 76ers 20 12 8 0.600 24
7 Hemel Royals 20 9 11 0.450 18
8 Olympic City Giants 20 4 16 0.200 8
9 Solent Stars 20 4 16 0.200 8
10 Derby Rams 20 3 17 0.150 6
11 Crystal Palace 20 2 18 0.100 4
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

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Quarter-finals

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(1) Glasgow Rangers vs. (8) Olympic City Giants

Glasgow Rangers 125–95 Olympic City Giants
Glasgow win series, 2–0

(2) Livingston vs. (7) Hemel Royals

Livingston 108–105 Hemel Royals
Livingston win series, 2–0

(3) Sunderland 76ers vs. (6) Bracknell Tigers

Bracknell Tigers 110–96 Sunderland 76ers
Bracknell win series, 2–0

(4) Leicester City Riders vs. (5) Manchester Eagles

Leicester City Riders 80–74 Manchester Eagles
Leicester win series, 2–0

Semi-finals

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Third place

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Final

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16 April 1989[2]
Glasgow Rangers 89–86 MIM Livingston
Pts: Butch Hayes 27, Joel Moore 22, Alan Cunningham 19, Jim Morrisson 13, Tony McDaid, Danny Davis, Alan Riddle, John Duncan, Terry Mangham, Martin Clark Pts: Vic Fleming 30, Ralton Way 19, Iain McLean 15, Tommy Collier 10, Lewis Young, Graeme Hill, Steve Hoffman, Alan Ryan, Derek Frame, Jason Fogarty
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Glasgow coach – Kevin Cadle
Livingston coach – Ian Gordon

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Oldham Celtics 20 17 3 0.850 34
2 Brixton Topcats 20 17 3 0.850 34
3 Birmingham Bullets 20 16 4 0.800 32
4 Worthing Bears 20 15 5 0.750 30
5 Gateshead Vikings 20 14 6 0.700 28
6 Plymouth Raiders 20 10 10 0.500 20
7 Oxford Park 20 8 12 0.400 16
8 Cheshire Jets 20 6 14 0.300 12
9 Corby Flyers 20 4 16 0.200 8
10 Stockport Giants 20 3 17 0.150 6
11 Tower Hamlets 20 0 20 0.000 0
= League winners

Coca-Cola National Cup

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Second Round

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Derby Rams 106–66 Walsall
Oxford Park vs. w/o
Crystal Palace 98–69 Stevenage
Oldham Celtics 89–100 Manchester Eagles

Quarter-finals

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Manchester Eagles 123–59 Oxford Park

+ Derby expelled after match was abandoned following a scuffle

Semi-finals

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Final

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18 March 1989
Bracknell Tigers 87–75 Manchester Eagles
Pts: Brian Kellybrew (MVP) 24, Peter Scantlebury 11, Mike Hayles 10, Paul James 10, Dale Roberts Pts: Dave Gardner 21, Colin Irish 12, Lang 10
London Arena
Attendance:
Bracknell HC Jim Guymon
Manchester HC Jeff Jones

NatWest Trophy

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Group stage

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North Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1. Glasgow Rangers 20 10 10 0 1.000
2. Livingston 16 10 8 2 0.800
3. Manchester Eagles 10 10 5 5 0.500
4. Olympic City Giants 10 10 5 5 0.500
5. Sunderland 76ers 4 10 2 8 0.200
6. Oldham Celtics 0 10 0 10 0.000

South Group

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1. Bracknell Tigers 18 10 9 1 0.900
2. Leicester City Riders 14 10 7 3 0.700
3. Solent Stars 12 10 6 4 0.600
4. Derby Rams 6 10 3 7 0.300
5. Hemel Royals 6 10 3 7 0.300
6. Crystal Palace 4 10 2 8 0.200

Despite dropping out of the Carlsberg League and into the National League after just one game of the season, Oldham Celtics continued their schedule in the League Trophy.

Quarter-finals

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Glasgow Rangers vs. Olympic City Giants

Glasgow Rangers 107–70 Olympic City Giants
Glasgow win on aggregate, 218–154

Livingston vs. Manchester Eagles

Manchester Eagles 74–72 Livingston
Livingston win on aggregate, 149–132

Bracknell Tigers vs. Derby Rams

Bracknell Tigers 114–73 Derby Rams
Bracknell win on aggregate, 221–141

Leicester City Riders vs. Solent Stars

Leicester City Riders 108–83 Solent Stars
Leicester win on aggregate, 194–162

Semi-finals

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Glasgow Rangers vs. Livingston

Glasgow Rangers 63–62 Livingston
Livingston win on aggregate, 154–151

Bracknell Tigers vs. Leicester City Riders

Leicester City Riders 67–77 Bracknell Tigers
Bracknell win on aggregate, 167–149

Final

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25 February 1989[4]
Bracknell Tigers 89–81 Livingston
Pts: Trevor Gordon 20, Dale Roberts 15, Peter Scantlebury 11, Brian Kellybrew 11 Pts: Tommy Collier 18, Iain McLean 16, Vic Fleming 16, Ralton Way 13
Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham
Attendance: ?
Bracknell coach – Brian Kellybrew
Livingston coach – Ian Gordon

Seasonal awards

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References

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  1. ^ BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 15
  2. ^ "Nicholas Harling. "Rangers leave their mark." Times [London, England] 17 Apr. 1989". The Times.
  3. ^ ""Strength on bench tells for Bracknell." Times [London, England] 20 Mar. 1989". The Times.
  4. ^ "Julian Desborough. "Gordon steers Braeknell to NatWest title." Times [London, England] 27 Feb. 1989". The Times.
Preceded by BBL seasons
1988–89
Succeeded by