| 1997–98 BBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | British Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Roll of Honour | |
| BBL champions | Greater London Leopards |
| Play Off's champions | Birmingham Bullets |
| National Cup champions | Thames Valley Tigers |
| BBL Trophy champions | Sheffield Sharks |
| British Basketball League seasons | |
← 1996–97 1998–99 → | |
The1997–98 BBL season was known as theBudweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured the same 13 teams as the previous year, playing 36 games each. The only change saw the Hemel Royals renamed the Watford Royals.
Greater London Leopards clinched their second successive Budweiser League title only by virtue of an overtime win in their final game of the season against Sheffield Sharks. Leopards' 102–106 victory in Sheffield meant they finished level on points with title-rivalsBirmingham Bullets, but were crowned Champions due to a better head-to-head record over the Midlands team. Birmingham gained some consolation by taking their second Play-off Championship in three years atWembley Arena, beating off a tough challenge fromThames Valley Tigers, winning 78–75. The Thames Valley Tigers won theNational Cup and the Sheffield claimed their firstuni-ball Trophy with an 82–79 win overLondon Towers at theNational Exhibition Centre.
London Towers represented the Budweiser League in European competition, participating in theEuroCup.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater London Leopards | 36 | 29 | 7 | 0.806 | 58 |
| 2 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 29 | 7 | 0.806 | 58 |
| 3 | Newcastle Eagles | 36 | 25 | 11 | 0.694 | 50 |
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 25 | 11 | 0.694 | 50 |
| 5 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 24 | 12 | 0.667 | 48 |
| 6 | London Towers | 36 | 23 | 13 | 0.638 | 46 |
| 7 | Derby Storm | 36 | 16 | 20 | 0.444 | 32 |
| 8 | Manchester Giants | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0.416 | 30 |
| 9 | Leicester Riders | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0.416 | 30 |
| 10 | Chester Jets | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0.416 | 30 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 8 | 28 | 0.222 | 16 |
| 12 | Worthing Bears | 36 | 7 | 29 | 0.194 | 14 |
| 13 | Watford Royals | 36 | 3 | 33 | 0.083 | 6 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
(1) Greater London Leopards vs. (8) Manchester Giants
(2) Birmingham Bullets vs. (7) Derby Storm
(3) Newcastle Eagles vs. (6) London Towers
(4) Sheffield Sharks vs. (5) Thames Valley Tigers
May 3, 1998 |
| Birmingham Bullets | 78–75 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Pts:Tony Dorsey (MVP) 28, Reggie Kirk 18, Nigel Lloyd 16, HL Coleman, Fab Flournoy Rebs: Lloyd 9 | Pts:John McCord 24, Dameon Page 19, Tony Holley 13, Casey Arena, Jason Siemon, Adrian Cummings Rebs: Holley 13 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Jaguars | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0.958 | 40 |
| 2 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0.864 | 38 |
| 3 | Stevenage Rebels | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Teesside Mohawks | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Solihull Chiefs | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.592 | 26 |
| 6 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.592 | 26 |
| 7 | Guildford Pumas | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 8 | Oxford Devils | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 9 | Westminster Warriors | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0.273 | 12 |
| 10 | Cardiff Phoenix | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 11 | Mid-Sussex Magic | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 12 | Brixton TopCats | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
Semi-finals
Final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solent Stars | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0.962 | 46 |
| 2 | Cardiff Clippers | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0.833 | 40 |
| 3 | London Towers II | 24 | 19 | 5 | 0.793 | 38 |
| 4 | South Bank University Bulls | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0.583 | 28 |
| 5 | Bournemouth Dolphins | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0.583 | 28 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0.500 | 24 |
| 7 | Flintshire Flyers | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0.458 | 22 |
| 8 | Northampton 89ers | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0.417 | 20 |
| 9 | Slough Chargers | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0.375 | 18 |
| 10 | Liverpool Atac | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0.375 | 18 |
| 11 | Swindon Sonics | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0.375 | 18 |
| 12 | Chessington Wildcats | 24 | 5 | 19 | 0.208 | 10 |
| 13 | Thames Valley Tigers II | 24 | 1 | 23 | 0.042 | 2 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
Semi-finals
Final
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Sharks | Leicester Riders | 66-69 |
| London Towers | Manchester Giants | 75-67 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Worthing Bears | 111-80 |
| Thames Valley Tigers | Leopards | 97-89 |
| Team 1 | Team 2 | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Valley Tigers | Birmingham Bullets | 63-55 | 63-70 |
| London Towers | Leicester Riders | 76-74 | 84-90 |
17 January 1998[2] |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 82–78 | Leicester Riders |
| Pts: John McCord 27, Dameon Page 18, Casey Arena 14, Jason Siemon 14, Tony Holley | Pts: Billy Singleton 24, Gene Waldron 21, JaRon Boone 12, James Havrilla, Geno Ford |
Northern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Newcastle Eagles | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 2.Leicester Riders | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 3.Manchester Giants | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 4.Sheffield Sharks | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 5.Chester Jets | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 6.Derby Storm | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
Southern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Gtr. London Leopards | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Thames Valley Tigers | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 3.Birmingham Bullets | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 4.Watford Royals | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 5.Crystal Palace | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 6.Worthing Bears | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 |
Sheffield finished ahead of Chester and Derby by having the best record in matches between the three teams and qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record ahead of Watford on basket difference. London Towers received a bye into Quarter-finals.
Greater London Leopards vs. Thames Valley Tigers
January 21, 1998 |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 87–95 | Greater London Leopards |
| Greater London wins on aggregate, 178–166 | ||
London Towers vs. Manchester Giants
Newcastle Eagles vs. Birmingham Bullets
Sheffield Sharks vs. Leicester Riders
London Towers vs. Newcastle Eagles
Sheffield Sharks vs. Greater London Leopards
March 8, 1998 |
| Sheffield Sharks | 82–79 | London Towers |
| Pts:John Amaechi (MVP) 40,Terrell Myers, Mark Robinson, Wilbur Johnson Rebs:John Amaechi, 16 | Pts:Danny Lewis 23, Keith Robinson, James Hamilton, Neville Austin, Marco Baldi, Tamir Berkovitch Rebs:Keith Robinson, 13 |
March 22, 1998 7.05pmGMT |
| Northern All-Stars | 168–175 | Southern All-Stars |
| Pts:Leon McGee, 25 | Pts:John White, 32 |
| Category | Player | Stat |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game |  Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) | 26.09 |
| Rebounds per game | Makeba Perry (Greater London Leopards) | 11.81 |
| Assists per game |  Cleave Lewis (Watford Royals) | 5.78 |
| Steals per game | Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) | 3.11 |
| Blocks per game |  Brendan Graves (Derby Storm) | 2.77 |
| Preceded by | BBL seasons 1997–98 | Succeeded by |
