The 1997–98 BBL season was known as the

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

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 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 ...

, 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 Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

, beating off a tough challenge from

Thames Valley 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 ...

, winning 78–75. The Thames Valley Tigers won the

National Cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...

and the Sheffield claimed their first uni-ball Trophy with an 82–79 win over

London Towers London Towers were a professional basketball team based in London, England. They enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and early 2000s, collecting 3 titles in the British Basketball League (BBL) as well as regularly competing in European c ...

at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...

. 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 The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The Sharks play in the British Basketball League and play thei ...

. Regulation time ended on 90–90, but Leopards'

Eric Burks Eric Burks (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 10-year career, most of which was spent playing in the British Basketball League (BBL). Burks was a four-time BBL All-Star and one-time BBL MVP. C ...

sunk 9 of their 16 overtime points to win the title for the second successive season.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

The play-offs

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

Playoffs

Semi-finals Final

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Playoffs

Semi-finals Final

Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup

Fourth round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

uni-ball Trophy

Group stage

Northern Group

Southern Group

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

Statistics leaders

Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player:

( Greater London Leopards) * Coach of the Year: Billy Mimms ( Greater London Leopards) * All-Star Team: **

( Greater London Leopards) **

John Amaechi John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi , Order of the British Empire, OBE (; born 26 November 1970) is a British-American psychologist, consultant and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Vanderbilt Commodores men's baske ...

(

) **

Ted Berry Theodore Moody Berry (November 8, 1905 – October 15, 2000) is an American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio and was the first African-American mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Early life and education Born in poverty in Maysville, ...

(

Derby Storm Derby Storm was a former British Basketball League (BBL) franchise from the city of Derby, Derbyshire. The team took the decision to sit out the 2002–03 British Basketball League season, 2002–03 season after failing to find a suitable venue f ...

) **

Tony Dorsey Anthony Jerald Dorsey (born July 15, 1970) is an American-born British former professional basketball player. He was born in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, and a weight of 220 lbs. (100 kg), he played at ...

(

) ** Tony Holley (

) ** Danny Lewis (

) **

Nigel Lloyd Nigel ( ) is an English language, English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walte ...

(

) ** John McCord (

) ** Leon McGee (

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...

) ** John White ( Greater London Leopards)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 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, ...