1997–98 British Basketball League season 1997–98 British Basketball League season The 1997–1998 BBL season was known as the Budweiser 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, but were crowned Champions due to a better head-to-head record over the Midlands team.
Josh Steel (basketball) Josh Steel (basketball) Joshua Steel (born 14 January 1997) is a British professional basketball player who currently plays for the Surrey Scorchers in the British Basketball League. Steel attended Barking Abbey School and represented the Barking Abbey Basketball Academy. In 2012, he played 12 games for National Basketball League Division One team the Essex Leopards aged 14. He also spent two seasons playing semi-professionally with the Kent Crusaders between 2013 and 2015. In 2015, Steel moved to the United States to join Duquesne University. He averaged 2.2 points, 0.7 assists, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 steals per game in his freshman