The 1995–96 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The division retained the same thirteen teams as the previous year after the BBL rejected an application from Crystal Palace who had sealed the National League Division One (the second tier) title. The main change saw the Sunderland Scorpions renamed the Newcastle Comets due to a change of franchise and venue, their new home would be in Gateshead until the newly built Newcastle Arena opened on 18 November. The Manchester Giants also had a new home at the Nynex Arena and the sport was boosted by the return of TV coverage by Sky Sports.
London Towers clinched a treble, winning the National Cup, 7 Up Trophy and finishing top of the regular season standings. They were defeated in the Championship Play-off final by Birmingham Bullets.BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 11
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 London Towers 36 32 4 0.889642 Sheffield Sharks 36 30 6 0.83360 3 Birmingham Bullets 36 26 10 0.72252 4 Leopards 36 23 13 0.63846 5 Manchester Giants 36 21 15 0.58342 6 Derby Storm 36 21 15 0.58342 7 Worthing Bears 36 19 17 0.527388 Thames Valley Tigers 36 16 20 0.44432 9 Newcastle Comets 36 11 25 0.30522 10 Leicester City Riders 36 11 25 0.30522 11 Doncaster Panthers 36 10 26 0.27820 12 Chester Jets 36 8 28 0.22216 13 Hemel Royals 36 6 30 0.16712 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (1) London Towers vs. (8) Thames Valley Tigers
(2) Sheffield Sharks vs. (7) Worthing Bears
(3) Birmingham Bullets vs. (6) Derby Storm
(4) Leopards vs. (5) Manchester Giants
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Crystal Palace 22 22 0 1.000442 Coventry Crusaders 22 19 3 0.86438 3 Ware Rebels * 22 17 5 0.77333 4 Cardiff Phoenix 22 14 8 0.63628 5 Bury Wildcats 22 10 12 0.45520 6 Stockton Mohawks 22 10 12 0.455207 Brixton TopCats 22 9 13 0.40918 8 Mid-Sussex Magic 22 9 13 0.40918 9 Nottingham Knights 22 7 15 0.31814 10 Plymouth Raiders 22 7 15 0.31814 11 Oldham Celtics 22 5 17 0.22710 12 Solent Stars 22 3 19 0.1366 = League winners One point deducted *
Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
Fourth round Team 1 Team 2 Score Derby Bucks London Towers 65-82 Hemel Hempstead Royals Coventry Crusaders 101-73 Sheffield Sharks Chester Jets 71-40 Worthing Bears Leopards 82-87 Newcastle Comets Manchester Eagles 107-121 Ware Rebels Thames Valley Tigers 71-103 Crystal Palace Doncaster Panthers 82-81 Birmingham Bullets Leicester Riders 94-72
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Thames Valley Tigers London Towers Crystal Palace Leopards 80-75 Sheffield Sharks Manchester Eagles Hemel Royals Birmingham Bullets 72-84
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg Crystal Palace Sheffield Sharks 63-70 68-74 Birmingham Bullets London Towers 79-77 77-99
Final
7 Up Trophy
Group stage Northern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Derby Storm84401.0002.Chester Jets44220.5003.Doncaster Panthers44220.5004.Leicester City Riders24130.2505.Newcastle Comets24130.250 Southern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Worthing Bears63301.0002.Birmingham Bullets43210.6673.Leopards23120.3334.Hemel Royals03030.000
Chester finished ahead of Doncaster by having the best head-to-head record between the teams. London, Manchester, Sheffield and Thames Valley all received a bye into Quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals Chester Jets vs. Birmingham Bullets
Manchester Giants vs. Sheffield Sharks
Thames Valley Tigers vs. London Towers
Worthing Bears vs. Derby Storm
Semi-finals London Towers vs. Birmingham Bullets
Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks
Final
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (London Towers) All-Star Team: Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) Karl Brown (Leopards) Steve Bucknall (London Towers) Todd Cauthorn (Sheffield Sharks) Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks) LaKeith Humphrey (Derby Storm) Colin Irish (Worthing Bears) Danny Lewis (London Towers) Mark Robinson (Manchester Giants) Tony Windless (London Towers)
References