2012–13 British Basketball League season vs. Newcastle Eagles Sheffield Sharks vs. Leicester Riders The 12 BBL clubs were joined by Essex Leopards and Reading Rockets of the English Basketball League and Edinburgh Kings of the Scottish Basketball League to form a straight knock-out competition. Following the withdrawal of East London Royals prior to the start of the competition, Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League were invited to take their place and play Mersey Tigers in the 1st Round. The first two rounds featured one-off games whilst the Semi-finals took place over two legs. The Final was held at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow and
British Basketball League commercial development of basketball within Great Britain. In partnership with England Basketball, the BBL launched a women's league in 2014, branded as the Women's British Basketball League (WBBL). The British Basketball League was formed in 1987 as clubs opted for a franchise-based competition without promotion or relegation. In 1988 Portsmouth won the inaugural BBL Championship title but the following year saw Kingston win the first of three back-to-back league crowns. The 1990s also saw a growth in popularity and commercialism of the league. Games became televised and the league picked up sponsors such as Peugeot, Lego, Playboy and Budweiser, while