The 2004–05 BBL season was the 18th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League, which commenced on 2 October 2004, and ended with Newcastle Eagles' win in the Play-off Final on 1 May 2005. Eagles won their first piece of silverware in 13 years with victories in the play-offs and the BBL Trophy, against Brighton Bears on their home court at The Brighton Centre.
The League saw the addition of a new franchise for the first time in eight years – when Edinburgh Rocks joined in 1998 – with Plymouth Raiders stepping up from the English Basketball League Division 1.
Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaCapacityLast season Birmingham Bullets Birmingham North Solihull Sports Centre 1,000 10th Brighton Bears Brighton Brighton Centre & Burgess Hill Triangle 3,600 1,800 1st Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 5th Leicester Riders Leicester John Sanford Centre 800 9th London Towers London Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 1,500 3rd Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 8th Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 6th Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 New Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Ponds Forge 1,600 2nd Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 4th Thames Valley Tigers Bracknell John Nike Sports Centre 1,000 7th
Notable occurrences Following the withdrawal of major sponsor, Brighton Bears pulled out of the FIBA Europe League just weeks before the start of the tournament, meaning that no British teams would be competing in European competition for the current season. Plymouth Raiders played, and won, their first game in the BBL on 2 October 2004, beating the visiting Milton Keynes Lions in a low-scoring game that finished 63–46 in favour of the rookies. The first piece of silverware up for gabs, the BBL Cup, was won by Brighton Bears after defeating Scottish Rocks, 90–74 in the final at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham. Newcastle Eagles won their first title in 13 years after upsetting Brighton in the BBL Trophy Final, which was played at The Brighton Centre. Eagles ran out 85–60 winners in a very one-sided spectacle. Leicester Riders moved back to the city of Leicester after securing a venue and sponsorship with De Montfort University.
BBL championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1Chester Jets403280.800642Newcastle Eagles403190.775623London Towers4029110.725584Sheffield Sharks4026140.650525Brighton Bears4022180.550446Scottish Rocks4019210.475387Thames Valley Tigers4018220.450368Milton Keynes Lions4015250.375309Plymouth Raiders4012280.3002410Leicester Riders4011290.2752211Birmingham Bullets405350.12510
= League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 City of Sheffield Arrows 22 21 1 0.955422 London United 22 18 4 0.81836 3 Reading Rockets 22 16 6 0.72732 4 Worcester Wolves 22 13 9 0.59126 5 Worthing Thunder 22 13 9 0.59126 6 Manchester Magic 22 12 10 0.54524 7 Teesside Mohawks 22 10 12 0.45520 8 Essex & Herts Leopards 22 9 13 0.40918 9 PAWS London Capital 22 7 15 0.31814 10 Solent Stars 22 5 17 0.22710 11 Kingston Wildcats 22 5 17 0.22710 12 Coventry Crusaders 22 3 19 0.1366 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Nottingham Knights 20 18 2 0.900362 Mansfield Express 20 15 5 0.75030 3 West Hertfordshire Warriors 20 14 6 0.70028 4 King's Lynn Fury 20 13 7 0.65026 5 Liverpool 20 9 11 0.45018 6 Colchester United 20 8 12 0.40016 7 Bath Romans 20 8 12 0.40016 8 Leicester Phoenix 20 8 12 0.40016 9 Northampton Neptunes 20 7 13 0.35014 10 Hackney White Heat 20 5 15 0.25010 11 Tamar Valley Cannons 20 4 16 0.2008 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
BBL Cup
First round Team 1 Team 2 Score Leicester Riders Thames Valley Tigers 77-95 Birmingham Bullets Plymouth Raiders 73-75 London Towers Newcastle Eagles 84-86
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Brighton Bears Milton Keynes Lions 78-68 Scottish Rocks Chester Jets 90-75
Final
BBL Trophy
Group stage
Northern Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Newcastle Eagles84401.0002.Scottish Rocks44220.5003.Teesside Mohawks04040.000
Southern Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.London Towers84401.0002.Milton Keynes Lions24130.2503.Birmingham Bullets24130.250
Northern Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Chester Jets64310.7502.Sheffield Sharks64310.7503.Leicester Riders04040.000
Southern Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Brighton Bears64310.7502.Plymouth Raiders44220.5003.Thames Valley Tigers24130.250
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStatPoints per game Trey Moore (Chester Jets) 22.8Rebounds per game Terrence Durham (Plymouth Raiders) 13.6Assists per game TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles) 7.3
References