The 1980–81 Rotary Watches National Basketball League season was the ninth season of the National Basketball League.
The league was sponsored by Rotary Watches for the third consecutive year and Birmingham Team Fiat broke the Crystal Palace monopoly by taking the league title. Sunderland provided a major shock when securing the Play Offs title. Palace, who were expected to make a clean sweep of silverware, gained some consolation by winning the National Cup.
Team changes Coventry Team Fiat were rebranded Birmingham and moved to a larger venue at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre which served as a catalyst for their success. Manchester took on the name Trafford for the season but apart from this the teams remained the same. A team called Solent Stars backed by a millionaire businessman called Harry Smith easily won the second division and competed successfully against first division teams in tournaments.
National League
First Division Pos Team P W L F A Pts1 Birmingham Team Fiat 18 17 1 1748 1530 342 Crystal Palace 18 16 2 1787 1467 323 Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine 18 13 5 1725 1498 264 Sunderland Saints 18 11 7 1633 1490 225 John Carr Doncaster 18 9 9 1549 1441 206 Stockport Belgrade 18 7 11 1510 1638 147 Trafford Giants 18 6 12 1418 1563 128 Kelly Girls International Kingston 18 5 13 1546 1680 109 Team Talbot, Guildford Pirates 18 4 14 1470 1730 810 Blackpool Pacemakers 18 2 16 1386 1735 6
Second Division Pos Team P W L F A Pts 1 Solent Stars 16 15 1 1824 1221 302 Brighton Bears 16 13 3 1654 1426 263 Liverpool 16 11 5 1731 1241 224 National Breakdown Leeds 16 11 5 1448 1303 225 Camden & Hampstead 16 8 8 1457 1468 166 Nottingham 16 5 11 1266 1430 107 Brunel Uxbridge 16 5 11 1258 1481 108 Colchester Moels 16 2 14 1201 1592 49 Hemeling Wolverhampton 16 2 14 1272 1779 4
Rotary Watches playoffs
Semi-finals venue & date Team 1 Team 2 Score March 13, Wembley Arena Birmingham Team Fiat Sunderland Saints 73-80 March 13, Wembley Arena Crystal Palace Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine 88-86
Final
Asda National Cup
First round Team 1 Team 2 Score Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine Crystal Palace 83-97 Stockport Belgrade National Breakdown Leeds 78-80 Sunderland Saints Liverpool 103-78 John Carr Doncaster Trafford Giants 88-87 aet Brighton Bears Solent Stars 105-129 Nottingham Birmingham Team Fiat 69-105 Brunel Uxbridge KGI Kingston 74-118 Colchester Moles Team Talbot Guildford 77-104
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score KGI Kingston Crystal Palace 70-81 National Breakdown Leeds Sunderland Saints 71-82 Team Talbot Guildford John Carr Doncaster 71-83 Solent Stars Birmingham Team Fiat 98-101
Semi-finals venue & date Team 1 Team 2 Score Dec 05, Bradford John Carr Doncaster Sunderland Saints 73-68 Dec 12, Bletchley Crystal Palace Birmingham Team Fiat 94-73
Final
References
See also Basketball in England British Basketball League English Basketball League List of English National Basketball League seasons