London Towers

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London Towers

League	EBL Division 3 (South)
Founded	1984
Team History	Tower Hamlets 1984-1989 London Docklands 1989-1991 London Towers 1991-present
Arena	Crystal Palace Sports Centre
City	London, Greater London
Team Colours	Yellow and Black
Ownership	Costi Zombanakis
Head Coach	Gary Lyttle

The London Towers is a basketball team which plays in the English Basketball League Division 3 (South). It plays at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, which has a capacity of 3,500. The current senior team is formed out of the reserve team of the BBL Towers, who pulled out of Britain's top league in the summer of 2006.

1 Franchise history
- 1.1 High risers
- 1.2 On the move again
2 The Towers rise
3 Home arenas
4 Trophies
5 Players
- 5.1 Current roster
6 External link

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] High risers

Established as Tower Hamlets, in the borough of the same name, the London-based team entered NBL Division 2 in 1984. By 1989 they finished eleventh, out of the eleven teams in the league and were due to be relegated. However, the BBL was suffering a membership crisis at the time, and was about to be reduced to just seven teams. With the newly built Docklands Arena available as a possible venue not too far from the team's roots, the Tower Hamlets franchise was admitted to Britain's top professional league as capital's representatives, London Docklands, for the 1989/90 season.

[edit] On the move again

The following season, the Docklands Basketball team left the big Arena as they, in common with other basketball teams at the time, struggled with the cost of a big arena rent. They returned 'home' to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and the Newham Leisure Centre, although their first two seasons yielded just three League victories.

[edit] The Towers rise

It was 1991 when the franchise which came to sit astride British basketball finally gained its most well-known label. Renamed London Towers, but still playing at Newham, the club's fortunes turned around in the 1991/92 season, as they finished fourth, and a move to the Sobell Sports Centre in Islington saw them finish third in 1993. In 1994 they moved to the Wembley Stadium Complex, and it was there that they enjoyed their best seasons, winning five titles in two seasons, from 1995 to 1997.

[edit] Euro Trip

The 1997-98 season saw the Towers make the European debut appearance, competing in the Euro Cup, however all did not go to plan and the London team were shamed with a 1-9 record in Group E, finishing in last place. The Towers made another appearance in Europe in 2001 where they took part in the prestigious Euroleague, but again the Towers collapsed with a 0-14 record, good enough only for 8th place in Group B.

[edit] Moving in Together

Once more though, in 1998 the Towers arena proved too big to pay for and the team moved out of Wembley, "merging" with fellow BBL team Crystal Palace and splitting games between the two arenas until in 1999 they moved full time to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

In 2005, the Towers launched a second team in the English Basketball League as a stepping-stone for their development players. In their first season in Division 3, the team finished runners-up.

[edit] The End?

Plans for their own Arena, linking with their community and development work, have been rumoured for several years, but in 2006, the London Towers first team pulled out of BBL, for a "one year break". As a result, the development team now acts as the first team, while still playing at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, and the club still operates all of is youth and development teams. Such a step has been taken in the past by teams from both Manchester and Derby and neither has returned to the top league. Rumours also abound of an NBA Development League being established in Europe, with both the Towers and Brighton Bears having previously expressed interest in joining.

[edit] Home arenas

London Arena (1989-1991)

Newham Leisure Centre (1991-1992)

Sobell Sports Centre (1992-1994)

Wembley Arena (1994-1999)

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (1999-present)

[edit] Trophies

1995/96 League Champions, National Cup Winners, League Trophy Winners
1996/97 Championship Winners, League Trophy Winners
1998/99 Tournament of Champions Winners, Championship Winners
1999/00 Southern Conference Champions, League Trophy Winners
2000/01 Tournament of Champions Winners, Southern Conference Champions

[edit] Players

[edit] Current roster

The numbers are established according to the official websites of the team (www.london-towers.co.uk).

As of November 10, 2006

4	Jerome Longville	Forward
5	Kola Odeniyi	Guard
6	Joe Lawlor	Forward
8	Ian Berry	Guard
9	Karolis Stepanavicius	Forward
10	Seb Springall	Guard
11	Avelino Antonio	Forward
12	Max Curle	Forward
13	Theo Blossom	Forward
14	Armand Anebo	Forward
15	Tayo Ogedegebe	Forward
20	Edwin Saayeng	Guard
21	Benjamin Lawmann	Centre