2007–08 British Basketball League season

The 2007–08 season, the 21st since the establishment of the British Basketball League, commenced on 9 September 2007, when the Plymouth Raiders succumbed to the Guildford Heat in the inaugural Cup Winners' Cup competition. The regular season started two weeks later on 21 September with 12 teams including new additions Birmingham Panthers, Everton Tigers and London Capital the later of whom stepped up from EBL Division 1 during the summer. After just one season in the top-flight, London United were forced to drop out due to the loss of its financial backer just weeks before the start of the season.[1]

2007–2008 British Basketball League season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsNewcastle Eagles
Play Off's championsGuildford Heat
BBL Cup championsMilton Keynes Lions
BBL Trophy championsGuildford Heat

Guildford's participation in the ULEB Cup saw a British team return to European competition for the first time since Brighton Bears' appearance in the same competition in the 2003–04 season. Out of their depth, the Heat finished their European adventure with a 0–10 record.

On the domestic scene Guildford continued their dominance, collecting the Cup Winners' Cup, BBL Trophy and the Play-off crown. Newcastle Eagles were Champions of the League's regular season campaign, whilst rookie teams Everton and London ended with respectable 7th and 9th-place finishes. The League also secured a live broadcasting contract with Setanta Sports midway through the campaign which saw one televised game a week screened on live on their network.[2]

Teams
Locations of the 2007–08 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Birmingham Panthers Birmingham &
Telford		 UoW, Walsall Campus &
TCAT Arena		 1,000
500		 New
Cheshire Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 9th
Everton Tigers Liverpool Echo Arena &
Greenbank Sports Academy		 7,513
600		 New
Guildford Heat Guildford Guildford Spectrum 1,100 1st
Leicester Riders Leicester John Sandford Centre 800 7th
London Capital London Capital City Academy 300 New
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 6th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 3rd
Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 5th
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 4th
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield English Institute of Sport 1,200 2nd
Worcester Wolves Worcester University of Worcester 600 10th

Notable occurrences
  • The league features three new teams, the Birmingham Panthers and Everton Tigers, both start-up franchises, and London Capital, who stepped up from the English Basketball League.
  • Just two weeks before the start of the season, London United's directors announced on 5 September that they have withdrawn from all competitions for the upcoming season because of financial difficulties, leaving new team Capital as London's sole representatives.[1]
  • A new pre-season competition, the Cup Winners' Cup, a two-legged face-off between the current holders of the BBL Cup and the BBL Trophy, opened the new season, with Guildford Heat claiming a 176-168 aggregate win over Plymouth Raiders.
  • On 2 October, just days before their inaugural home game, Birmingham Panthers finally secured a deal with the University of Wolverhampton, to use their Walsall Campus as a home venue. This came after deals with two other venues had previously fallen through, and the League rejected a proposal for relocation to Telford.[3]
  • Guildford made their debut in European competition (ULEB Cup) on 6 November, just two years after they ere established. They lost 84–68 away to Bosnian team KK Bosna in Sarajevo.
  • During the early hours of 10 November, Guildford star Brian Dux was involved in a serious car accident and fell into a coma.[4] He was finally rushed to hospital over two hours after his car was found,[5] and put into immediate intensive care.
  • The BBL Cup Final took place at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham, on 13 January 2008. A sell-out crowd of over 6,000 people saw a valiant Milton Keynes Lions comeback over Newcastle Eagles to claim their first ever piece of silverware, with a 69–66 victory.
  • A television deal was struck on 17 February with international broadcaster Setanta Sports which began with the 2008 Trophy Final and saw one game a week shown live on Setanta Sports 2 every Wednesday.[2]
  • Despite having an earlier attempt to relocate to Telford blocked by the BBL, Birmingham Panthers played their first game at Telford's TCAT Arena on 17 February against Newcastle Eagles, who stormed to a 59–104 victory. The temporary move suggested the franchise may relocate to Telford after just one season in Birmingham.[6]
  • Guildford triumphed with their first ever BBL Trophy victory over Newcastle at the Plymouth Pavilions on 2 March. In front of a sell-out crowd and broadcast live on Setanta Sports 2, the Heat ran out 86-79 winners in the action-packed final.

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Newcastle Eagles332940.87958
2Guildford Heat332490.72748
3Plymouth Raiders332490.72748
4Milton Keynes Lions3319140.57638
5Scottish Rocks3318150.54536
6Sheffield Sharks3317160.51534
7Everton Tigers3316170.48532
8Worcester Wolves3314190.42428
9London Capital3312210.36424
10Leicester Riders3310230.30320
11Cheshire Jets339240.27318
12Birmingham Panthers336270.18212
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs
  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                           
  1 Newcastle Eagles 105  
8 Worcester Wolves 96  
  1 Newcastle Eagles 63  
  4 Milton Keynes Lions 72  
4 Milton Keynes Lions 105
  5 Scottish Rocks 93  
    4 Milton Keynes Lions 88
  2 Guildford Heat 100
  2 Guildford Heat 81  
7 Everton Tigers 72  
  2 Guildford Heat 81 Third place
  3 Plymouth Raiders 66  
3 Plymouth Raiders 91 1 Newcastle Eagles 92
  6 Sheffield Sharks 73   3 Plymouth Raiders 96

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third-place game

Final
4 May 2008
5.00pm GMT
Guildford Heat 100–88 Milton Keynes Lions
Scoring by quarter: 24-21, 18-20, 25-20, 33-27
Pts: Daniel Gilbert 27, Mike Martin 25, Tony Dorsey 19
Rebs: Mike Martin 10		 Pts: Dru Spinks 22, Yorick Williams 13, Terrell Brown 10
Rebs: Robert Youngblood 7

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Manchester Magic 181620.88932
2Reading Rockets 181620.88932
3Worthing Thunder 181440.77828
4Bristol Academy Flyers 181080.55620
5London Leopards 18990.50018
6Derby Trailblazers 188100.44416
7City of Sheffield Arrows 188100.44416
8Taunton Tigers 185130.27810
9Coventry Crusaders 184140.2228
10King's Lynn Fury 180180.0000
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Tees Valley Mohawks 221840.81836
2Cardiff Celts 221840.81836
3Birmingham Aston Athletics 221570.68230
4University of Birmingham 221390.59126
5Leicester Warriors 221390.59126
6Plymouth Marjon Cannons 2212100.54524
7Team Northumbria 2212100.54524
8Northampton Neptunes 2210120.45520
9Kent Crusaders 227150.31814
10Plymouth Raiders II 226160.27312
11Newi Nets 225170.22710
12University of Wolverhampton 223190.1366
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

Cup Winners' Cup

The 2007–08 season saw the inauguration of the BBL's newest competition, the Cup Winners' Cup. The pre-season event between last season's winners of the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy was staged over two legs with the winner determined by the final aggregate score.

Guildford Heat claimed the upper-hand in the first leg away to Plymouth Raiders with an 83–77 victory, despite being ahead by 18-points, Raiders kept fighting and eventually clawed the game back before losing in the final minutes.

The second leg in Guildford was an equally tight affair, but Heat's strength combined with Raiders' poor free-throw shooting, gave them a 93–91 victory, tallying up to a 176–168 win on aggregate.

9 September 2007
4.00pm GMT
Plymouth Raiders 77–83 Guildford Heat
Scoring by quarter: 13-20, 16-23, 24-17, 24-23
Pts: DeAntoine Beasley, 23 Pts: Brian Dux/Mike Martin, 17
15 September 2007
7.00pm GMT
Guildford Heat 93–90 Plymouth Raiders
Scoring by quarter: 25-20, 22-21, 14-20, 32-29
Pts: Daniel Gilbert, 20
Rebs: Mike Martin, 12		 Pts: Andrew Lasker, 21
Rebs: Gaylon Moore, 13
Guildford win on aggregate, 176–168

BBL Cup

For the 2007–08 edition of the BBL Cup, the top three ranking teams from last season's BBL Championship – Guildford Heat, Sheffield Sharks and Newcastle Eagles – plus the Milton Keynes Lions, all received a bye into the Quarter-final, leaving the remaining eight clubs to battle it out in the First Round.

First round
27 September 2007
Leicester Riders 79–73 Birmingham Panthers
John Sandford Centre, Leicester
4 November 2007
Cheshire Jets 93–80 Everton Tigers
Northgate Arena, Cheshire

Quarter-finals
25 November 2007
London Capital 73–78 Milton Keynes Lions

Semi-finals
15 December 2007
Scottish Rocks 69–75 Newcastle Eagles
K2 Arena, Crawley
15 December 2007
Milton Keynes Lions 91–80 Guildford Heat
K2 Arena, Crawley

Final
13 January 2008
Milton Keynes Lions 69–66 Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 9-13, 24-15, 24-17, 12-21
Pts: Kevin Griffin (MVP) 24, Tony Windless 22, Yorick Williams 9 Pts: Charles Smith 21, Andrew Bridge 18, Lynard Stewart 12

BBL Trophy

This season's BBL Trophy was slightly reformatted from the previous edition of the tournament. The first round comprised three groups of three and one group of four. Gone were the lower league clubs for the English Basketball League and Scottish Basketball League, with the exception of the previous year's EBL Division 1 champions Worthing Thunder, who stepped in to fill the spot vacated by London United, who withdrew prior to the season opener.

Each team played each other twice, once home and once away, and after each group campaign is completed, the top team from each group advanced into the semi-finals. If teams tied on points (2 for a win, 0 for a loss), head-to-head results would come into play.

Group stage

Group 1

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Cheshire Jets 86420.666
2.Plymouth Raiders 86420.666
3.Milton Keynes Lions 66330.500
4.Leicester Riders 26150.166

Group 2

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Guildford Heat 84401.000
2.London Capital 44220.500
3.Worthing Thunder 04040.000

Group 3

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Worcester Wolves 84401.000
2.Sheffield Sharks 44220.500
3.Birmingham Panthers 04040.000

Group 4

Team Pts Pld W L Percent
1.Newcastle Eagles 64310.750
2.Scottish Rocks 64310.750
3.Everton Tigers 04040.000

Semi-finals

Final

The Final for this season's BBL Trophy was held on 2 March 2008, at the Pavilions in Plymouth, the first time the venue has hosted a major final. It was a 'North-South' final contested between Newcastle Eagles and Guildford Heat, and was broadcast live on television, on Setanta Sports 2, and also BBC Radio Newcastle.

Newcastle had been leading 47–35 at the half, but a Guildford comeback led by Most Valuable Player E. J. Harrison and Daniel Gilbert, overhauled the Eagles for their first trophy of the season, after the league and cup double of last season. Harrison scored 10 of his 25 points in the closing quarter with Gilbert scoring 3 in the last minute to cement the trophy for the Heat. Lynard Stewart led all scorers in the match with 26 points, but this was not enough for Newcastle as Fabulous Flournoy's men went down in their second consecutive final after losing to Milton Keynes Lions in the BBL Cup final.

2 March 2008
Guildford Heat 86–79 Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 21-20, 14-27, 30-14, 21-18
Pts: E. J. Harrison 25, Daniel Gilbert 25, Mike Martin 13 Pts: Lynard Stewart 26, Andrew Bridge 12, Olu Babalola 11

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStat
Points per game James Life (Worcester Wolves)25.9
Rebounds per game Shawn Myers (Cheshire Jets)11.3
Assists per game James Whyte (Sheffield Sharks)7.0
Steals per game Maurice Hampton (Scottish Rocks)2.9
Blocks per game Andrew Alleyne (Leicester Riders)1.4
Field goal percentage Lynard Stewart (Newcastle Eagles)65.9%
Free throw percentage Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)87.0%
Three-point field goal percentage Chris Haslam (Everton Tigers)48.5%

Monthly awards
MonthCoachPlayer
October Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) Shawn Myers (Cheshire Jets)
November Sterling Davis (Scottish Rocks) Anthony Paez (Worcester Wolves)
December Vince Macaulay-Razaq (Milton Keynes Lions) Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)
January Sterling Davis (Scottish Rocks) Jayson Obazuaye (Cheshire Jets)
February Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) Tony Dorsey (Guildford Heat)

Seasonal awards

References
  1. BBC London (2007). "London United Basketball Team". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  2. Simon Rushworth (2008). "Basketball back on the box". Sunday Sun. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  3. Collin Tattum (2007). "Panthers banned from making Telford switch". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  4. Harold McNeil (2007). "Ex-Canisius basketball star Brian Dux injured in car crash in England". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  5. Surrey Advertiser (2007). "Inquiry into 999 response while basketball pro remains in a coma". Surrey Advertiser. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  6. Colin Tattum (2008). "Panthers trounced in Telford". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
Preceded by
2006–07 season		 BBL seasons
2007–08		 Succeeded by
2008–09 season
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