The 1988–89 BBL season was the second season of the
British Basketball League
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...
(known as the
Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons) since its establishment in 1987. The season featured a total of 11 teams, playing 20 games each. The league had suffered in the 1989 close season because
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
was wound up followed by
Calderdale Explorers
The Calderdale Explorers are an English basketball club, based in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
The Explorers compete in English Basketball League Division 3 North. A previous incarnation of the club was a founding member of the British Basketbal ...
and
Birmingham Bullets
The Birmingham Bullets were a British professional basketball team from Birmingham, England who competed in the British Basketball League (BBL). The club was founded in 1974 as Coventry Granwood before moving to Birmingham in 1980 as part of the ...
both dropping out of the league. Bolton and Bury Giants became the Olympic City Giants and Kingston moved north of the border playing as Glasgow Rangers. The new season was supposed to feature 12 teams, however
Oldham Celtics
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, whic ...
dropped out of the league and into the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(Tier 2) after just one game, due to financial difficulties.
The season was dominated by the success of the league's two Scottish teams
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
and
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
, who finished the regular season in first and second place respectively.
[BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 15] Glasgow's
Kevin Cadle
Kevin Cadle (March 17, 1955 – October 16, 2017) was a British-based American sports presenter and former basketball coach.
Cadle was born in Buffalo, New York in 1955. After retiring from coaching in 1997, Cadle presented American football and ...
and
Alan Cunningham
General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War ...
were also named as the league's Coach and Player of the year, however the Scottish dominance was broken by
Bracknell Tigers
Thames Valley Tigers was a British professional basketball team that competed in the British Basketball League (BBL) until 2005, when funding was ceased and the franchise folded. Based in Bracknell, Berkshire, the team's fans set up a new team to ...
who were victorious in the
League Trophy
The British Basketball League Trophy, often shortened to the BBL Trophy, is an annual cup competition for British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripher ...
against Livingston in the Final.
Below the Carlsberg League in the National League Division 1, it came as no surprise that Oldham Celtics sealed the title bearing in mind that they had originally planned to play in the top tier.
Carlsberg League (Tier 1)
Final standings
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
(1) Glasgow Rangers vs. (8) Olympic City Giants
(2) Livingston vs. (7) Hemel Royals
(3) Sunderland 76ers vs. (6) Bracknell Tigers
(4) Leicester City Riders vs. (5) Manchester Eagles
Semi-finals
Third place
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
National Cup
Second Round
Quarter-finals
+ Derby expelled after match was abandoned following a scuffle
Semi-finals
Final
NatWest Trophy
Group stage
North Group
South Group
Despite dropping out of the Carlsberg League and into the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
after just one game of the season,
Oldham Celtics
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, whic ...
continued their schedule in the League Trophy.
Quarter-finals
Glasgow Rangers vs. Olympic City Giants
Livingston vs. Manchester Eagles
Bracknell Tigers vs. Derby Rams
Leicester City Riders vs. Solent Stars
Semi-finals
Glasgow Rangers vs. Livingston
Bracknell Tigers vs. Leicester City Riders
Final
Seasonal awards
* Most Valuable Player:
Alan Cunningham
General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War ...
(
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
)
* Coach of the Year:
Kevin Cadle
Kevin Cadle (March 17, 1955 – October 16, 2017) was a British-based American sports presenter and former basketball coach.
Cadle was born in Buffalo, New York in 1955. After retiring from coaching in 1997, Cadle presented American football and ...
(
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
)
* All-Star Team:
**
Tony Balogun (
Leicester City Riders
Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around Leicestershire before moving to their current purpose ...
)
**
Jimmy Brandon (
Leicester City Riders
Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around Leicestershire before moving to their current purpose ...
)
**
Tommy Collier (
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
)
**
Alan Cunningham
General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War ...
(
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
)
**
Dan Davis (
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
)
**
Lorenzo Duncan (
Hemel Royals
London Lions are a British professional basketball team based in Stratford, East London, England, and compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. The team was originally founded in 1977 as the Hemel Hempstead ...
)
**
Butch Hays
William "Butch" Hays (born 16 September 1962) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who played most of his career in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) from 1991 to 2003.
Early life
Born in Los Angeles, Hays ...
(
Glasgow Rangers
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
)
**
Russ Saunders
Stebbell Russell "Russ" Saunders (January 1, 1906 - April 29, 1987) was an American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1931 NFL season.
He was an All-American at USC and was ...
(
Sunderland 76ers)
**
Phil Smith (
Solent Stars
The Solent Stars were a basketball club from Southampton, who were one of the founder members of the British Basketball League, where they competed from 1987 to 1990. For the rest of their existence, the club competed in the English Basketball ...
)
**
Clyde Vaughan
Clyde Vaughan (born in Mount Vernon, New York, United States) is a basketball coach and former professional player, who enjoyed a distinguished career at college level and professional level and international level for the England team. He was a ...
(
Sunderland 76ers)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 British Basketball League season
British Basketball League seasons
1
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...