Several attempts to set up a national league in the UK during the latter half of the 20th Century failed due to a general lack of interest in the sport, but the 1987 decision to launch the British Basketball League proved a well-timed one. It is unlikely to ever compete with the success of the NBA, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular and its showpiece events routinely draw strong crowds.
Each of the division’s twelve teams boasts a strong local fan base, and most can show intrinsic links to their community, often making their presence felt with charity work and visits to schools in their surrounding area. Tickets are cheap, the atmosphere is fun for adults and children alike, the latter entertained during breaks in a game that remains fast-paced and enticing for supporters of all ages as teams seek to win one of the three trophies on offer each season.
@WBBLofficial TRO Final - 12:30pm
@RidersBball v @officialraiders 3:30pm
#theWBBL #theBBL
The BBL Championships
The BBL Championships are the most important competition, initially starting out as a standard league format. With no draws, each team plays 33 games and receives two points for each victory, none for a loss and the top eight sides at the end of the campaign go head-to-head in the playoffs.
Matches are played according to FIBA rules and games consist of four quarters of 10 minutes each, unlimited numbers of 5-minute overtime periods used until one team is ahead when a period ends. The team who finishes top of the table are British Basketball Champions.
Playoffs
Teams are seeded depending on their final positioning in the Championship standings, so first-place faces eighth, second versus seventh, third against sixth and fourth v fifth. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are played over two legs (home and away) with the aggregate score determining which team will advance to the next stage.
The culmination of the post-season is the Grand Final, held at The O2 Arena in London, which sees a one-off game event to determine the Play-off Champions.
The BBL Cup
Unlike the BBL Championships, which involves a points system, the BBL Cup is a knock-out competition and involves all of the active members of the League. The Final is held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham every January.
The BBL Trophy
The BBL Trophy competition differs from the other two competitions as it does not involve only the professional teams of the BBL, with six teams from the first divisions of The England Basketball League and the Scottish Basketball League invited to participate in the competition every year.
The teams are split into four groups and play only teams within their own group during the season, with those who finish at the top of their group qualifying for a place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Recent History
Last season saw the Leicester Riders finish top of the league table and also lift the BBL Trophy to complete a memorable double but they then came up just short in the other two competitions. Having lost in the BBL Cup Final 94–82 to Newcastle Eagles in January, they then marched to the Playoff Final where they also tasted defeat as the Sheffield Sharks ran out 84-77 winners.
The current campaign has seen the Riders once again break away from their rivals, losing just two of their opening 23 games and making their way back to the final as they look to claim the Trophy once again.
Coach Rob Patenostro will be looking for another victory there before returning to league action, his team looking far more likely to defend their title than a certain nearby football team…
