1996–97 British Basketball League season a bye into Quarter-finals. Birmingham Bullets vs. Leicester Riders Leopards vs. London Towers Thames Valley Tigers vs. Chester Jets Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks Chester Jets vs. Leicester Riders Sheffield Sharks vs. London Towers 1996–97 British Basketball League season The 1996–1997 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league retained a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The main change featured the long-awaited return of Crystal Palace after several seasons of rejected applications. Palace replaced Doncaster Panthers following the liquidation of the South Yorkshire club. The League's two London-based teams dominated throughout the
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