The 1996–97 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced Doncaster Panthers following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club.
The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the season, with the Leopards team claiming their first silverware in its franchise history after winning the Budweiser League and Sainsbury's Classic Cola Cup double. Their Capital foes, London Towers were equally successful throughout the campaign, clinching the 7 Up Trophy and pipping Leopards to the play-off title, with a one-point victory in the final at Wembley Arena against their rivals.
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Leopards 36 28 8 0.778562 London Towers 36 26 10 0.72252 3 Sheffield Sharks 36 26 10 0.72252 4 Birmingham Bullets 36 26 10 0.72252 5 Chester Jets 36 24 12 0.66748 6 Manchester Giants 36 22 14 0.61144 7 Newcastle Eagles 36 21 15 0.583428 Leicester Riders 36 15 21 0.41630 9 Derby Storm 36 14 22 0.38928 10 Thames Valley Tigers 36 14 22 0.38928 11 Worthing Bears 36 12 24 0.33324 12 Crystal Palace 36 5 31 0.13810 13 Hemel & Watford Royals 36 2 34 0.0554 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (1) Leopards vs. (8) Leicester Riders
(2) London Towers vs. (7) Newcastle Eagles
(3) Sheffield Sharks vs. (6) Manchester Giants
(4) Birmingham Bullets vs. (5) Chester Jets
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Ware Rebels 26 21 5 0.808472 Plymouth Raiders 26 20 6 0.76946 3 Coventry Crusaders 26 18 8 0.69344 4 Guildford Swifts 26 18 8 0.69344 5 Oxford Devils 26 16 10 0.61542 6 Westminster Warriors 26 15 11 0.578417 Stockton Mohawks 26 14 12 0.53840 8 Cardiff Phoenix 26 14 12 0.53840 9 Nottingham Knights 26 12 14 0.46237 10 Bury & Bolton Wildcats 26 11 15 0.42336 11 Mid-Sussex Magic 26 10 16 0.38536 12 Brixton TopCats 26 7 19 0.26933 13 Liverpool Atac 26 6 20 0.23132 14 Solent Stars 26 0 26 0.00026 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Solihull Chiefs 26 25 1 0.962512 London Towers II 26 22 4 0.84648 3 Thames Valley Tigers II 26 20 6 0.76946 4 South Wales SS 26 17 9 0.65443 5 South Bank Leopards 26 15 11 0.57841 6 Derby Storm II 26 15 11 0.578417 Slough Chargers 26 14 12 0.53840 8 Northampton 89ers 26 11 15 0.42337 9 Aston Adante 26 9 17 0.34635 10 Swindon Sonics 26 8 18 0.30834 11 Flintshire Flyers 26 7 19 0.26933 12 Chessington Wildcats 26 7 19 0.26933 13 Sheffield Forgers 26 6 20 0.23131 14 Bournemouth Dolphins 26 5 21 0.19230 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs Final
Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
Fourth round Team 1 Team 2 Score Manchester Giants Crystal Palace 91-61 Coventry Crusaders Sheffield Sharks 56-86 Birmingham Bullets Hemel & Watford Royals 91-84 Cardiff Phoenix London Towers 55-95 Ware Rebels Newcastle Eagles 70-102 Thames Valley Tigers Derby Storm 80-79 Worthing Bears Leicester Riders 74-84 Chester Jets Leopards 103-112
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Leicester Riders 103-98 London Towers Manchester Giants 83-74 Newcastle Eagles Birmingham Bullets 99-93 Thames Valley Tigers Leopards 87-102
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg Sheffield Sharks Newcastle Eagles 91-80 75-84 Leopards London Towers 93-92 72-70
Final
7 Up Trophy
Group stage Northern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Sheffield Sharks105501.0002.Chester Jets85410.8003.Leicester Riders45230.4004.Manchester Giants45230.4005.Derby Storm25140.2006.Newcastle Eagles25140.200 Southern Group
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Leopards105501.0002.Thames Valley Tigers65320.6003.Worthing Bears65320.6004.Birmingham Bullets65320.6005.Crystal Palace25140.4006.Hemel & Watford Royals05050.000
Leicester finished ahead of Manchester by having the best head-to-head record between the teams, whilst Birmingham qualify as fourth-placed finishers with the best record. London received a bye into Quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals Birmingham Bullets vs. Leicester Riders
Leopards vs. London Towers
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets
Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks
Semi-finals Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders
Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers
Final
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: John White (Leopards) Coach of the Year: Mike Burton (Chester Jets) All-Star Team: John White (Leopards) Ralph Blalock (Newcastle Eagles) Eric Burks (Leopards) Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets) James Hamilton (Worthing Bears) Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks) Danny Lewis (London Towers) Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets) Billy Singleton (Chester Jets) Voise Winters (Sheffield Sharks)
References