The 1997–98 BBL season was known as the Budweiser 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-rivals Birmingham 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 at Wembley Arena, beating off a tough challenge from Thames Valley Tigers, winning 78–75. The Thames Valley Tigers won the National Cup and the Sheffield claimed their first uni-ball Trophy with an 82–79 win over London Towers at the National Exhibition Centre.
London Towers represented the Budweiser League in European competition, participating in the EuroCup.
Notable occurrences Greater London Leopards won the League title in the final game of the season on April 5, 1998, with a 102–106 overtime victory at Sheffield Sharks. Regulation time ended on 90–90, but Leopards' Eric Burks sunk 9 of their 16 overtime points to win the title for the second successive season.
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Greater London Leopards 36 29 7 0.806582 Birmingham Bullets 36 29 7 0.80658 3 Newcastle Eagles 36 25 11 0.69450 4 Sheffield Sharks 36 25 11 0.69450 5 Thames Valley Tigers 36 24 12 0.66748 6 London Towers 36 23 13 0.63846 7 Derby Storm 36 16 20 0.444328 Manchester Giants 36 15 21 0.41630 9 Leicester Riders 36 15 21 0.41630 10 Chester Jets 36 15 21 0.41630 11 Crystal Palace 36 8 28 0.22216 12 Worthing Bears 36 7 29 0.19414 13 Watford Royals 36 3 33 0.0836 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (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
Semi-finals
Third-place game
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Richmond Jaguars 22 20 2 0.958402 Plymouth Raiders 22 19 3 0.86438 3 Stevenage Rebels 22 16 6 0.72732 4 Teesside Mohawks 22 14 8 0.63628 5 Solihull Chiefs 22 13 9 0.59226 6 Coventry Crusaders 22 13 9 0.592267 Guildford Pumas 22 10 12 0.45520 8 Oxford Devils 22 9 13 0.40918 9 Westminster Warriors 22 6 16 0.27312 10 Cardiff Phoenix 22 4 18 0.1828 11 Mid-Sussex Magic 22 4 18 0.1828 12 Brixton TopCats 22 4 18 0.1828 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Solent Stars 24 23 1 0.962462 Cardiff Clippers 24 20 4 0.83340 3 London Towers II 24 19 5 0.79338 4 South Bank University Bulls 24 14 10 0.58328 5 Bournemouth Dolphins 24 14 10 0.58328 6 Wolverhampton 24 12 12 0.500247 Flintshire Flyers 24 11 13 0.45822 8 Northampton 89ers 24 10 14 0.41720 9 Slough Chargers 24 9 15 0.37518 10 Liverpool Atac 24 9 15 0.37518 11 Swindon Sonics 24 9 15 0.37518 12 Chessington Wildcats 24 5 19 0.20810 13 Thames Valley Tigers II 24 1 23 0.0422 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Semi-finals
Final
Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
Fourth round Team 1 Team 2 Score Worthing Bears Crystal Palace 106-102 Coventry Crusaders Thames Valley Tigers 67-91 Stevenage Rebels Manchester Giants 60-93 Leicester Riders Newcastle Eagles 94-76 Leopards Derby Storm 99-90 Sheffield Sharks Watford Royals 85-70 Plymouth Raiders London Towers 77-99 Chester Jets Birmingham Bullets
Quarter-finals 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
Semi-finals 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
Final
uni-ball Trophy
Group stage Northern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Newcastle Eagles65320.6002.Leicester Riders65320.6003.Manchester Giants65320.6004.Sheffield Sharks45230.4005.Chester Jets45230.4006.Derby Storm45230.400 Southern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Gtr. London Leopards105501.0002.Thames Valley Tigers65320.6003.Birmingham Bullets65320.6004.Watford Royals45230.4005.Crystal Palace45230.4006.Worthing Bears05050.000
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.
Quarter-finals Greater London Leopards vs. Thames Valley Tigers
London Towers vs. Manchester Giants
Newcastle Eagles vs. Birmingham Bullets
Sheffield Sharks vs. Leicester Riders
Semi-finals London Towers vs. Newcastle Eagles
Sheffield Sharks vs. Greater London Leopards
Final
Dairylea Dunkers All-Star Game
+Northern All-StarsPlayer Team John Amaechi Sheffield Sharks Billy Singleton Leicester Riders Robert Churchwell Manchester Giants JaRon Boone Leicester Riders Corey Jackson Chester Jets Ted Berry Derby Storm Mark Robinson Sheffield Sharks Leon McGee Newcastle Eagles Rob Phelps Newcastle Eagles Mark Boyd Newcastle Eagles Todd Cauthorn Sheffield Sharks James Havrilla Leicester Riders Coach Craig Lynch Newcastle Eagles
+Southern All-StarsPlayer Team Tony Dorsey Birmingham Bullets Eric Burks Greater London Leopards John White Greater London Leopards John McCord Thames Valley Tigers Tony Holley Thames Valley Tigers Brad Wedel Crystal Palace Danny Lewis London Towers Greg Francis Worthing Bears Nigel Lloyd Birmingham Bullets Keith Robinson London Towers Robert Youngblood Greater London Leopards Alan Hopper Watford Royals Coach Billy Mims Greater London Leopards
Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStatPoints per game Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) 26.09Rebounds per game Makeba Perry (Greater London Leopards) 11.81Assists per game Cleave Lewis (Watford Royals) 5.78Steals per game Casey Arena (Thames Valley Tigers) 3.11Blocks per game Brendan Graves (Derby Storm) 2.77
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Eric Burks (Greater London Leopards) Coach of the Year: Billy Mimms (Greater London Leopards) All-Star Team: Eric Burks (Greater London Leopards) John Amaechi (Sheffield Sharks) Ted Berry (Derby Storm) Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) Tony Holley (Thames Valley Tigers) Danny Lewis (London Towers) Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets) John McCord (Thames Valley Tigers) Leon McGee (Newcastle Eagles) John White (Greater London Leopards)
References