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
2004–05 British Basketball League season 2004–05 British Basketball League season The 2004–2005 season was the 18th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League, which commenced on 2 October 2004, and ended with Newcastle Eagles' win in the Play-off Final on 1 May 2005. Eagles won their first piece of silverware in 13 years with victories in the Play-offs and the BBL Trophy, against Brighton Bears on their home court at The Brighton Centre. The League saw the addition of a new franchise for the first time in eight years – when Edinburgh Rocks joined in 1998 – with Plymouth Raiders stepping up from