The 1997–98 BBL season was known as the

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company 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 is a filte ...

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, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

, 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 ...

, 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 (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

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

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

. 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, England. The Sharks compete in the Super League Basketball and play their home matches at ...

. Regulation time ended on 90–90, but Leopards' Eric Burks sunk 9 of their 16 overtime points to win the title for the second successive season.

Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Playoffs

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

) ** Ted Berry ( Derby Storm) ** Tony Dorsey (

) ** Tony Holley (

) ** Danny Lewis ( London Towers) **

Nigel Lloyd Nigel A Lloyd is a Barbadian-British basketball coach and former player. Career Born in Barbados, Lloyd came to the United States at age 6. He first picked up a basketball in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. In the 1980s, he attended the ...

(

) ** John McCord (

) ** Leon McGee (

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They play in Super League Basketball, the top-tier professional basketball league in Britain for men and women, and the European North Basketball Leag ...

) ** 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...