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The Mersey Tigers were a professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
team based in the city of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The club was established in 2007 as a start-up franchise 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 ...
, the country's elite competition. The Tigers started competing at the start of the 2007–08 season, and won the
BBL Cup The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, 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 peripheral c ...
in their second season as well as finishing as runners-up in the league. In 2013 it was officially announced that the Tigers franchise had been withdrawn from the BBL due to financial difficulties that had plagued the club throughout the previous season, which resulted in the Tigers becoming the first ever BBL club to complete an entire season without a single victory. Previously, under the name Everton Tigers, the club was an Official Partner of the
Everton Football Club Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has compe ...
organisation and an amalgam of the Toxteth Tigers community youth programme which started in 1968. The club also operated the Tigers Basketball Academy in partnership with
Childwall Academy Childwall Sports and Science Academy is a secondary school in Liverpool, England, with a sixth form. It is an academy and part of the Lydiate Learning Trust. Academic performance and inspections As of 2022, the college's most recent inspectio ...
, founded in 2009. However, in July 2010 Everton withdrew funding and the club re-launched as Mersey Tigers.


Franchise history


Establishment

The Everton Tigers was officially presented as the 12th member of the British Basketball League on 19 June 2007, after a professional basketball franchise was awarded to the city of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
based on a sound business plan, community focus and their association with a Premier League football club. The club was part of Bill Kenwright's Everton F.C. organisation, who became the fifth football club in the history of British basketball to field a basketball team, following in the footsteps of Manchester United,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and Newcastle United (now
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 ...
). Based around the community work of Everton Football Club, headed by Gary Townsend, and existing community basketball club Toxteth Tigers, the new club specifically targeted youth development as one of the main goals, while the senior team was to be spearheaded by Henry Mooney, head of the
Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area ...
programme. On 17 August it was announced that Tigers would be using the Greenbank Sports Academy in Sefton Park as their home venue which holds a capacity for 800 spectators. However, according to various articles in the media it is believed that the long-term ambition of the club is to occupy the 7,513-seat capacity Echo Arena, which was completed in early 2008.


2007–08 season

After months of speculation in the rumour mill prior to the season opening, Everton boasted several high-profile signings including that of Chris Haslam, Calvin Davis and BBL veteran
Delme Herriman Delme “tekky baller” herriman (born 8 May 1973 in Harrogate, England) is a British former professional basketball player. Herriman, who grew up in Widnes, England, played college basketball in the United States for Wright State University. ...
. The players were officially presented in front of 40,000 fans at
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
on 20 September, during the half-time of the football team's
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
home game against
FC Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 year ...
. The assembled squad played their first ever game on 29 September 2007, an exhibition match away to neighbouring Manchester Magic. Despite trailing for most of the match, with Magic leading 71–62 in the final two minutes, Tigers salvaged the match and pulled together a 14–0 run, storming to a 71–76 victory. Tigers' inaugural league campaign tipped-off with an away defeat to
Plymouth Raiders The Plymouth Raiders was a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club was founded in 1983 through a merger between two lo ...
on 6 October. Despite early domination from the Tigers, they consistently lost the lead throughout the game and lost 82–73, with Chris Haslam and Tony Robertson both posting 21 points each. The Tigers' first home game, on 12 October, also ended in defeat, with visiting fellow rookies London Capital running out 58-69 winners at Greenbank. The clubs' first main sponsor for the 2007–08 season was announced the following week, the press release stating that locally based Bibby Maritime Ltd, the world's leading provider of floating accommodation, had agreed a deal to partner the first team and their development teams with sponsorship. An impressive start to the season for the rookie franchise was buoyed in December, when coach Henry Mooney pulled off a major coup with the signing of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
international Richard Midgley from
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 ...
. Liverpool's interest in its new local basketball team developed significantly as the season progressed, and with this in mind, the club moved the local derby home game against Cheshire Jets from their usual Greenbank home to the brand-new Echo Arena, selling out the entire 7,513-seat capacity venue within days of tickets going on sale. The match was also the first time the Tigers featured in a live televised broadcast, through the league's partnership with
Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
. The historic game was played on 19 March 2008 and the capacity crowd witnessed a spirited Tigers suffer defeat, finishing 80–103. The team completed their rookie season with a 16–17 record, finishing in 7th place and qualifying for the end-of-season play-offs, an incredible achievement for any brand-new franchise. The fairytale season, came to an abrupt end however in the Quarter-final of the play-offs, with the Tigers going down 81–72 away to eventual champions Guildford Heat.


2008–09 season

The club looked to build on the success of their first season by appointing
Tony Garbelotto Anthony Garbelotto (born 2 January 1969) is an English basketball coach who coaches the NSH Mountain Gold Timika of the Indonesian Basketball League Coaching career Garbelotto started his coaching career with hometown club London Towers in 19 ...
, assistant coach of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, as the new first team coach. The announcement was made on 30 April, and also indicated that Garbelotto's predecessor Henry Mooney would take the
rein Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband. Use f ...
s as Head of Basketball Development. Garbelotto's first signing of the season was announced several weeks later, with the capture of veteran star Tony Dorsey from Guildford adding to a roster that already included
Delme Herriman Delme “tekky baller” herriman (born 8 May 1973 in Harrogate, England) is a British former professional basketball player. Herriman, who grew up in Widnes, England, played college basketball in the United States for Wright State University. ...
, John Simpson, Richard Midgley and Chris Haslam. James Jones, also from Guildford, was the second confirmed signing of the summer on 10 July. Following the inclusion of Andre Smith and Marcus Bailey on the new-look roster, the Tigers' secured a massive coup with the signing of Josh Gross from Austin Toros of the
NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...
where he averaged 14 points-per-game in 45 games. Despite the impressive signings, an under-strength Tigers lost their opening game, an exhibition with Manchester Magic at the Echo Arena, going down to a 61–65 defeat, while a pre-season three-game series in Belgium with
Dexia Mons-Hainaut Belfius Mons-Hainaut is a Belgian professional basketball club that is based in Mons, Wallonia. The club competes in the highest division of the country, the BNXT League. The club's home arena is the Mons Arena. Founded as Quaregnon in 1959, the ...
and
Antwerp Diamond Giants Antwerp Giants, named Telenet Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, are a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketball. The clu ...
, ended 1–2. The Tigers opened their league campaign with a comprehensive 61-80 demolition of
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 ...
in Sheffield, summer signing Andre Smith posted a game-high 29 points and collected 15 rebounds on his way to claiming the MVP. A week later, Tigers destroyed London Capital 107–69 at Greenbank, Andre Smith again in the limelight with 33 points. Tigers' first loss of the season came on 24 October, at home to
Worcester Wolves The Worcester Wolves are a basketball club in Worcester, England. The team plays in the NBL Division 2, the third tier of British basketball. The club was formed in 2000, and from 2006 until 2021 competed in the British Basketball League, th ...
, in which the visitors scalped a 101–106 victory with Smith again recording a 32-point haul and contributing to his Player of the Month award for October. During the same week, following the release of John Simpson, Tigers announced the signing of
Olu Babalola Olu Babalola (born 10 September 1981) is a British professional basketball player who plays for the Leeds Force in the British Basketball League. Born in London, England, Babalola played for St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, New ...
. After eliminating Sheffield (69-88) and
Milton Keynes Lions 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 ...
(75-97) in the
BBL Cup The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, 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 peripheral c ...
, the Tigers found themselves in a semi-final match-up with last season's runner-up
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 ...
and just one round away from the team's first-ever appearance in a major final. Newcastle edged the first leg with a 112–105 victory at the
Metro Radio Arena The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts mu ...
however Everton rallied and with a 97–86 victory – 202–198 over the series – subsequently reached the Final for the first time in history, where they would face the
Plymouth Raiders The Plymouth Raiders was a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club was founded in 1983 through a merger between two lo ...
. The game was played at the traditional home of the BBL Cup, the National Indoor Arena in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
on 18 January 2009. Although on paper the teams were closely matched, Tigers went on to destroy the Raiders and write themselves into the history books, not only by claiming their first piece of silverware but also by recording the biggest winning margin in BBL history, showing no mercy in a 103–49 victory. A month later and the Tigers, having finished top of
BBL 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 ...
Group 2, found themselves in another semi-final clash with Newcastle, who took revenge by scrapping to an 82–88 victory in Liverpool, dumping Everton out of the competition. The Tigers finished the regular season as runner-up to Newcastle, with a 24–9 record (1-2 against the Eagles), and qualified as second seed for the post-season play-off in which they were drawn to play
Scottish Rocks The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional basketball club in Glasgow, Scotland. The Gladiators compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. Since 2012, the team have played their home games at the Emirates Ar ...
. Everton made light work of the game and progressed to the Finals Weekend in Birmingham with an 84–64 home victory. Despite staking a claim for the league's MVP award, Andre Smith didn't travel with his team to Birmingham due to personal reasons and didn't figure throughout the weekend. The Semi-final, against the season's surprise package
Leicester 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- ...
was equally as straightforward as the Quarter-final, sweeping past the Riders 81–65, and thus Everton qualified for its first ever Play-off Final, facing familiar foes in the form of Newcastle Eagles. The match proved to be one of the most memorable in recent years and even though it was Newcastle who prevailed in a close contest, winning 87–84, it was Everton who stole the show. After trailing for most of the game, the Tigers found themselves 70-52 down at the end of the third quarter. Down but not out, Great Britain international Richard Midgley fought valiantly and his 36-point haul – a new record in Final's history – helped Everton claw back to within 2 points of the leading Eagles. But with only 9 seconds left, and Everton in the penalty, their forced fouls were enough for Newcastle to hold on and win the game.


2009–10 season

Olu Babalola was the first player to recommit to the Tigers, signing a new contract on 16 July, while coach Tony Garbelotto was on a scouting mission in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
at the NBA Summer League. In a quest to develop future talent, the club announced the launch of the new Everton Tigers Basketball Academy in partnership with Childwall Sports College. On the eve on the new season, the franchise announced that Chairman Gary Townsend would be stepping down to assume a similar role at football club
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, to be replaced by Vice-chairman Martyn Best. This could have been a huge loss for the club, having already lost star player Richard Midgley, who retired through injury earlier in the summer. However, Best, a co-founder of PR agency Paver smith, and Henry Mooney, helped secure the ongoing support of Everton football club as Official Partner and has helped stabilise the Tigers. On-court, the Tigers opened the season with an away defeat to Leicester (95-98), new signing Dzaflo Larkai making his debut by posting 22 points. The first home fixture with visiting Guildford was played out of the Echo Arena, and saw the hosts conquer in an 85–79 victory. Tigers' defence of their BBL Cup crown didn't last long as the holders crashed out in the Quarter-final following an overtime defeat to Sheffield, 99–90. Despite many challenges facing the Tigers during this third season, they overcame injuries to Kevin Bell and James Jones, the untimely departure of Larkei, and kept in contention for a top 5 spot all season. Trey Moore joined towards the end of the season, and the team gained a strong momentum as the play-offs loomed. Kevin Bell's return from a hand injury helped propel the Tigers to the play-off final, with in particular to crushing defeats of Newcastle Eagles. The play-off final against the Glasgow Rocks showed the full spirit of the Tigers, and a great comeback by the Rocks was halted for a stirring and nerve-jangling 8 point win for the Tigers. Kevin Bell was MVP, and Chris Hulme received an emotional send-off in his last professional game. During the close season, Gary Townsend returned to Liverpool and took ownership of the franchise with the Everton Tigers becoming the Mersey Tigers, and another new age for the Tigers began. Tony Garbelotto began his third season as head coach with the audacious signing of GB captain and former Eagle, Andrew Sullivan. Tigers favourites James Jones and Andrew Thompson signed on their for third and second season's respectively.


Home arenas

:Greenbank Sports Academy (2007–2010) : Echo Arena (2008–2011) :Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park (2011–2013)


Trophies


League

* BBL Championship Winners: 2010/11 * BBL Championship Runners Up: 2008/09


Playoffs

* BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2009/10, 2010/11 * BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 2008/09


Cup

* BBL Cup Winners: 2008/09 * BBL Cup Runners Up: 2010/11


Trophy

* BBL Trophy Winners: 2010/11


Season-by-season records


Players


Final roster


Notable former players

*
David Aliu David Aliu (born 13 March 1981) is a British retired professional basketball player. He last played for Cheshire Phoenix in the British Basketball League. Aliu was part of the Mersey Tigers' treble-winning 2010/11 team, and in November 2011, b ...
*
Olu Babalola Olu Babalola (born 10 September 1981) is a British professional basketball player who plays for the Leeds Force in the British Basketball League. Born in London, England, Babalola played for St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, New ...
*
Devan Bailey Devan Bailey (born 10 May 1989) is a British basketball player. College career Devan played two seasons of college basketball at Central Connecticut State, appearing in a total of 61 games, before leaving after his second year in 2011. Profes ...
* Marcus Bailey * Calvin Davis * Tony Dorsey * Rudy Etilopy * Chuck Evans * Josh Gross * Craig Hopkins * Chris Haslam *
Delme Herriman Delme “tekky baller” herriman (born 8 May 1973 in Harrogate, England) is a British former professional basketball player. Herriman, who grew up in Widnes, England, played college basketball in the United States for Wright State University. ...
* James Jones * Dzaflo Larkai *
Perry Lawson Perry Lawson (born 8 March 1982 in Northampton, England) is a British professional basketball player who currently plays for Essex Leopards in the English Basketball League. The in tall guard, able to play both shooting guard and point gu ...
* Richard Midgley * Mohamed Niang * Matthew Otten *
Nate Reinking Nate James Reinking (born 12 December 1973) is a British-American professional basketball coach and former player, who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the coach of the Great Brit ...
* John Simpson * Andre Smith * Drew Sullivan * Andrew Thomson * Tafari Toney


See also

*
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 ...
* Everton F.C.


References


External links


Official Mersey Tigers websiteOfficial Mersey Tigers BlogMersey Tigers
on
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{{British Basketball League teamlist Basketball teams in England Everton F.C. Basketball teams established in 2007 2007 establishments in England