- British Basketball League 2005-06
The 2005-06 BBL season was the 19th season of the
British Basketball League , which ran fromSeptember 23 ,2005 , through toApril 11 ,2006 . An earlier than usual start should be noted because of England's participation in the2006 Commonwealth Games , which took place during the BBL 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 onApril 14 ,2006 and ended with Finals Weekend onApril 30 ,2006 .Newcastle Eagles completed a clean sweep winning the Championship, BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and finishing it off with an impressive victory in the Playoff final againstScottish Rocks .Notable occurences
*
Guildford Heat made their debut appearance in the BBL onOctober 1 ,2005 , losing in overtime 89-88 toNewcastle Eagles at theMetro Radio Arena .
*Newcastle Eagles' Managing DirectorPaul Blake succeededVince Macaulay-Razaq as the new chairman of the BBL prior to the season opening, emphasising that he will strengthen links withEngland Basketball to lay the foundations for a successful national team.
*Newcastle picked up their first silverware of the season, with an 83-69 win overLondon Towers in theBBL Cup final at theNational Indoor Arena , inBirmingham onDecember 4 . Eagles' TJ Walker was awaerded MVP with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
*FormerNBA starDennis Rodman made his debut forBrighton Bears onJanuary 28 ,2006 , only weeks after leaving theCelebrity Big Brother house. A later investigation finds him to ineligible and Brighton are deducted 1 point.
*Birmingham Bullets owner Craig Bown breached league regulations when, onJanuary 26 , he cancelled Bullets' home game againstMilton Keynes Lions in protest of the suspensions of playerYorrick Williams and coachSkouson Harker . Bullets were deducted 1 point.
*TheBBL Trophy was also won by Newcastle, who defeatedLeicester Riders 71-50 at theSkyDome Arena inCoventry , onFebruary 5 . Newcastle's Andrew Sullivan picked up the MVP with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
*Many clubs missed several of their top English players, who left for the2006 Commonwealth Games which took place fromMarch 15 toMarch 26 .Peter Scantlebury MBE's England men's team returned hugely successful having defeatedNigeria 80-57 to bring home the bronze medal. The women's team also won bronze.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, [cite web| author = Richard Taylor | title = Basketball: Bears count Rodman cost | url = http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article345883.ece | year = 2006 | accessdate = 2007-03-24 | publisher = The Independent ] while Birmingham owner Craig Bown breached league rules by cancelling the game against Milton Keynes Lions. [cite web| author = Richard Taylor | title = Rodman becomes a Bear at close of the BBL's hardest week | url = http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article341480.ece | year = 2006 | accessdate = 2007-03-24 | publisher = The Independent ]
* (*)
Brighton Bears were deduced 1 point for playing an ineligible player.
* (**)Birmingham Bullets were deducted 1 point due to breach of BBL Regulations.Playoffs
8TeamBracket
RD1=Quarter-finals
RD2=Semi-finals
RD3=Final
group1=
group2=RD1-seed1=1
RD1-team1=Newcastle Eagles
RD1-score1=78
RD1-seed2=8
RD1-team2=Brighton Bears
RD1-score2=74RD1-seed3=4
RD1-team3=London Towers
RD1-score3=81
RD1-seed4=5
RD1-team4=Guildford Heat
RD1-score4=99RD1-seed5=2
RD1-team5=Scottish Rocks
RD1-score5=88
RD1-seed6=7
RD1-team6=Chester Jets
RD1-score6=70RD1-seed7=3
RD1-team7=Sheffield Sharks
RD1-score7=101
RD1-seed8=6
RD1-team8=Leicester Riders
RD1-score8=85RD2-seed1=1
RD2-team1=Newcastle Eagles
RD2-score1=115
RD2-seed2=5
RD2-team2=Guildford Heat
RD2-score2=97RD2-seed3=2
RD2-team3=Scottish Rocks
RD2-score3=101
RD2-seed4=3
RD2-team4=Sheffield Sharks
RD2-score4=84RD3-seed1=1
RD3-team1=Newcastle Eagles
RD3-score1=83
RD3-seed2=2
RD3-team2=Scottish Rocks
RD3-score2=68Quarter-finals
*
April 14 @ NewcastleNewcastle Eagles 78-74Brighton Bears
*April 15 @ LondonLondon Towers 81-99Guildford Heat
*April 15 @ GlasgowScottish Rocks 88-70Chester Jets
*April 16 @ SheffieldSheffield Sharks 101-85Leicester Riders emi-finals
*
April 29 @ NIA, BirminghamNewcastle Eagles 115-97Guildford Heat
*April 29 @ NIA, BirminghamScottish Rocks 101-84Sheffield Sharks Final
*
April 30 @ NIA, BirminghamNewcastle Eagles 83-68Scottish Rocks BBL Cup
*
December 4 @ NIA, BirminghamNewcastle Eagles 83-69London Towers BBL Trophy
*
February 5 @ SkyDome, CoventryNewcastle Eagles 71-50Leicester Riders Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.