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
Dutch Basketball League a best-of-five format, and the finals are played in a best-of-seven format. Teams in the DBL are not allowed to have more than four players without a Dutch passport in their on court team at the same time. The two teams that advance to the Finals of the play-offs play against each other in a best-of-seven playoff format. Teams shown in "italics" are no longer in existence. Teams in bold are currently playing in the DBL. Dutch Basketball League The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, is the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The league has a