The BBL Cup is one of two peripheral competitions operated by the British Basketball League during the regular season, the other being the BBL Trophy. It is a pure knockout competition between the BBL clubs, meaning there is no space for mistakes if you desire to become Cup winners.
With the withdrawal of Worthing Thunder and Essex Pirates for the beginning of the 2011/2012 season (The teams finishing as the bottom two winning just 5 and 1 of their 33 games respectively) their places in the draw have been taken up by newcomers Durham Wildcats, and SBL side Edinburgh Kings (as the pirates were due to play Glasgow Rocks)
The tournament emerged from the National Cup and was contested for the first time in 2003-04, when the Sheffield Sharks were the inaugural winners. The two sides that prevail through the competition face off at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena in January, for a one-off, do-or-die battle for this prestigious piece of silverware.
Newcastle Eagles landed the title in the 2005/2006 season for the first time in their history, beating the London Towers 83-69 in the final. Veteran point guard TJ Walker was the MVP with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
Guildford Heat were victorious in the 2007 BBL Cup Final when they overcame Scottish Rocks 81-78, winning their first ever piece of silverware. Heat player Brian Dux won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award courtesy of his 21-point, 6-rebound, 4 assist haul.
The 2008 Final, on paper, was one of the closest match-ups immaginable, with Newcastle facing-off against Milton Keynes Lions in their first ever appearance in the Cup Final. In the league standings, first-placed Eagles and second-placed Lions couldn't be separated, but the game itself was severely leaning in Lions favour and near the end of the third-quarter they lead the Eagles by as much as 57-41. A final resurgence from the Eagles brought the scores back to as close as 67-66 with a minute left, but the Lions eventually clawed their way to a 69-66 victory.
This article is for the British Basketball League, not the Basement Basketball League. The Basement Basketball League awards the BBL Championship Trophy.