2005–06 British Basketball League season

BBL seasons
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2007–08 • 2006–07 • 2005–06
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The 2005-06 season was the 19th season of the British Basketball League, which ran from September 23, 2005 through to April 11, 2006. The season started earlier than usual because of England's participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which took place during the regular season.

Eleven teams took to the court for the League Championship, which saw each team play each other four times (Twice at home and twice on the road) during the regular season. This was followed by the end of season playoffs which began on April 14, 2006 and ended with Finals Weekend on April 30, 2006. One team change in the line-up saw the disappearance of long-time BBL member Thames Valley Tigers who were dissolved by the League after owner John Nike withdrew his financial backing.[1][2] A consortium of fans bid to save the team resulted in a new franchise being formed, the Guildford Heat who occupied Tigers' place in the Championship.[3]

The season will be best remembered for Newcastle Eagles's incredible "clean sweep" of trophies winning the Championship, BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and finishing it off with an impressive victory in the Play-off Final against Scottish Rocks.

Contents

Teams

Locations of the BBL 2005-06 teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Birmingham Bullets Birmingham North Solihull Sports Centre 1,000 11th
Brighton Bears Brighton Burgess Hill Triangle 1,800 5th
Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,300 1st
Guildford Heat Guildford The Spectrum 1,100 New
Leicester Riders Leicester John Sanford Centre 800 10th
London Towers London Crystal Palace NSC Arena 3,500 3rd
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 8th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 2nd
Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 9th
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 6th
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Ponds Forge 1,600 4th

Notable occurrences

BBL Championships

Final standings

Each team played each other four times during the regular league season, twice at home and twice on the road. A dominant Newcastle team claimed the League title, with one game to spare against second-placed Scottish Rocks, adding their third piece of silverwear for the season.

In their rookie season Guildford Heat finished an impressive fifth, with a 20-20 record, while former heavyweights Brighton Bears and Birmingham Bullets struggled, finishing eighth and last respectively. Both teams were deducted one point each, Brighton for fielding an ineligible player against Guildford,[9] while Birmingham owner Craig Bown breached league rules by cancelling the game against Milton Keynes Lions.[10]

Team Pts Pld W L Percentage
1. Newcastle Eagles 60 40 30 10 0.750
2. Scottish Rocks 58 40 29 11 0.725
3. Sheffield Sharks 52 40 26 14 0.650
4. London Towers 44 40 22 18 0.550
5. Guildford Heat 40 40 20 20 0.500
6. Leicester Riders 36 40 18 22 0.450
7. Chester Jets 34 40 17 23 0.425
8. Brighton Bears* 33 40 17 23 0.425
9. Plymouth Raiders 32 40 16 24 0.400
10. Milton Keynes Lions 32 40 16 24 0.400
11. Birmingham Bullets** 17 40 7 31 0.175
= League winners
= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                           
  1  Newcastle Eagles 78  
8  Brighton Bears 74  
  1  Newcastle Eagles 115  
  5  Guildford Heat 97  
4  London Towers 81
  5  Guildford Heat 99  
    1  Newcastle Eagles 83
  2  Scottish Rocks 68
  2  Scottish Rocks 88  
7  Chester Jets 70  
  2  Scottish Rocks 101
  3  Sheffield Sharks 84  
3  Sheffield Sharks 101
  6  Leicester Riders 85  

Quarter-finals

April 14, 2006 Newcastle Eagles 78–74 Brighton Bears    Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
April 15, 2006 London Towers 81–99 Guildford Heat    Crystal Palace NSC Arena, London
April 15, 2006 Scottish Rocks 88–70 Chester Jets    Braehead Arena, Glasgow
April 16, 2006 Sheffield Sharks 101–85 Leicester Riders    Ponds Forge, Sheffield

Semi-finals

April 29, 2006 Newcastle Eagles 115–97 Guildford Heat    National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
April 29, 2006 Scottish Rocks 101–84 Sheffield Sharks    National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Final

April 30, 2006 Report Newcastle Eagles 83–68 Scottish Rocks    National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Scoring by quarter: 12-19, 16-21, 25-10, 30-18
Pts: Charles Smith, 22 Pts: Julius Joseph, 21

BBL Cup

Final

December 4, 2005 Report Newcastle Eagles 83–69 London Towers    National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Pts: TJ Walker, 28 Pts: Quincey Wadley, 24

BBL Trophy

Final

February 5, 2006 Report Newcastle Eagles 71–50 Leicester Riders    SkyDome Arena, Coventry
Pts: Andrew Sullivan, 18
Rebs: Andrew Sullivan, 11		 Pts: Ryan Huntley/Deginald Erskine, 12
Rebs: Tony Holley, 19

Statistics leaders

Category Player Stat
Points per game Chez Marks (London Towers) 22.1
Rebounds per game Shawn Jamison (Milton Keynes Lions) 13.7
Assists per game TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles) 8.1

References

  1. ^ BBC Sport (2006). "Backer Nike quits Bees and Tigers". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/4433251.stm. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  2. ^ BBC Sport (2006). "Tigers fans fail to secure deal". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/4642473.stm. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  3. ^ "Heat on at Spectrum". getSurrey.co.uk. 2006. http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/s/95642_basketball_heat_on_at_spectrum. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  4. ^ Richard Taylor (January 28, 2006). "Rodman becomes a Bear at close of the BBL's hardest week". London: The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article341480.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  5. ^ BBC Sport (January 29, 2006). "Rodman features in Brighton win". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/4611798.stm. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  6. ^ Richard Taylor (February 17, 2006). "Basketball: Bears count Rodman cost". London: The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article345883.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  7. ^ "Oh Boy! It's a Holley record". Daily Mirror. 2006. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2006/02/06/basketball-oh-boy-it-s-a-holley-record-115875-16670889/. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  8. ^ BBC Leicestershire (2006). "Eagles 71-50 Riders". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2006/02/06/leicester_riders_eagles_away_result.shtml. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  9. ^ Richard Taylor (February 17, 2006). "Basketball: Bears count Rodman cost". London: The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article345883.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  10. ^ Richard Taylor (January 28, 2006). "Rodman becomes a Bear at close of the BBL's hardest week". London: The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article341480.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
Preceded by
2004-05 BBL season		 BBL seasons
2005-06		 Succeeded by
2006-07 BBL season