# 1995–96 British Basketball League season

The 1995–96 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The league featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. The division retained the same thirteen teams as the previous year after the BBL rejected an application from Crystal Palace who had sealed the National League Division One (the second tier) title. The main change saw the Sunderland Scorpions renamed the Newcastle Comets due to a change of franchise and venue, their new home would be in Gateshead until the newly built Newcastle Arena opened on 18 November. The Manchester Giants also had a new home at the Nynex Arena and the sport was boosted by the return of TV coverage by Sky Sports.
London Towers clinched a treble, winning the National Cup, 7 Up Trophy and finishing top of the regular season standings. They were defeated in the Championship Play-off final by Birmingham Bullets.

## Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | London Towers | 36 | 32 | 4 | 0.889 | 64 |
| 2 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 30 | 6 | 0.833 | 60 |
| 3 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
| 4 | Leopards | 36 | 23 | 13 | 0.638 | 46 |
| 5 | Manchester Giants | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 6 | Derby Storm | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 7 | Worthing Bears | 36 | 19 | 17 | 0.527 | 38 |
| 8 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 16 | 20 | 0.444 | 32 |
| 9 | Newcastle Comets | 36 | 11 | 25 | 0.305 | 22 |
| 10 | Leicester City Riders | 36 | 11 | 25 | 0.305 | 22 |
| 11 | Doncaster Panthers | 36 | 10 | 26 | 0.278 | 20 |
| 12 | Chester Jets | 36 | 8 | 28 | 0.222 | 16 |
| 13 | Hemel Royals | 36 | 6 | 30 | 0.167 | 12 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals

(1) London Towers vs. (8) Thames Valley Tigers
| Thames Valley Tigers | 87–118 | London Towers |
| London Towers | 94–81 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| London win series, 2–0 |||
(2) Sheffield Sharks vs. (7) Worthing Bears
| Worthing Bears | 75–78 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Sheffield Sharks | 79–60 | Worthing Bears |
| Sheffield win series, 2–0 |||
(3) Birmingham Bullets vs. (6) Derby Storm
| Derby Storm | 78–92 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Birmingham Bullets | 96–88 | Derby Storm |
| Birmingham win series, 2–0 |||
(4) Leopards vs. (5) Manchester Giants
| Manchester Giants | 72–76 (OT) | Leopards |
| Leopards | 74–83 | Manchester Giants |
| Leopards | 73–75 | Manchester Giants |
| Manchester win series, 2–1 |||

#### Semi-finals

| London Towers | 95–86 | Manchester Giants |
* Wembley Arena, London
| Sheffield Sharks | 68–82 | Birmingham Bullets |
* Wembley Arena, London

#### Final

* Sky Sports 1
* 5 May 1996 19:00
| Birmingham Bullets | 78–72 | London Towers |
| Scoring by quarter: –, 43–45, 17–15, 18–12 |||
| Pts: Nigel Lloyd 23, Dorsey 22, Gordon 12 MVP: Tony Dorsey | | Pts: Windless 19, Bucknall/Lewis 13 |
* Wembley Arena, London Attendance: ? Birmingham Coach Nick Nurse London Coach Kevin Cadle

## National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 22 | 0 | 1.000 | 44 |
| 2 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0.864 | 38 |
| 3 | Ware Rebels * | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.773 | 33 |
| 4 | Cardiff Phoenix | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Bury Wildcats | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 6 | Stockton Mohawks | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 7 | Brixton TopCats | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 8 | Mid-Sussex Magic | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 9 | Nottingham Knights | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
| 10 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
| 11 | Oldham Celtics | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 12 | Solent Stars | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
* = League winners
One point deducted *

## Sainsbury's Classic Cola National Cup
### Fourth round

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Derby Bucks | London Towers | 65-82 |
| Hemel Hempstead Royals | Coventry Crusaders | 101-73 |
| Sheffield Sharks | Chester Jets | 71-40 |
| Worthing Bears | Leopards | 82-87 |
| Newcastle Comets | Manchester Eagles | 107-121 |
| Ware Rebels | Thames Valley Tigers | 71-103 |
| Crystal Palace | Doncaster Panthers | 82-81 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Leicester Riders | 94-72 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Thames Valley Tigers | London Towers | |
| Crystal Palace | Leopards | 80-75 |
| Sheffield Sharks | Manchester Eagles | |
| Hemel Royals | Birmingham Bullets | 72-84 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
| Crystal Palace | Sheffield Sharks | 63-70 | 68-74 |
| Birmingham Bullets | London Towers | 79-77 | 77-99 |

### Final

* 3 March 1996
| London Towers | 70–58 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Pts: Martin Henlan (MVP), Neville Austin, Roger Dulhaney, Tony Windless, Danny Lewis, Steve Bucknall | | Pts: Roger Huggins, Todd Cauthorn |
* Sheffield Arena Attendance: ? London Coach Kevin Cadle Sheffield Coach Jim Brandon

## 7 Up Trophy
### Group stage

Northern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Derby Storm | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Chester Jets | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Doncaster Panthers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 4.Leicester City Riders | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| 5.Newcastle Comets | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
Southern Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Worthing Bears | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Birmingham Bullets | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| 3.Leopards | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
| 4.Hemel Royals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
Chester finished ahead of Doncaster by having the best head-to-head record between the teams. London, Manchester, Sheffield and Thames Valley all received a bye into Quarter-finals.

### Quarter-finals

Chester Jets vs. Birmingham Bullets
| Chester Jets | 89–108 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Birmingham Bullets | 92–89 | Chester Jets |
| Birmingham win on aggregate, 200–178 |||
Manchester Giants vs. Sheffield Sharks
| Manchester Giants | 78–81 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Sheffield Sharks | 77–66 | Manchester Giants |
| Sheffield win on aggregate, 158–144 |||
Thames Valley Tigers vs. London Towers
| Thames Valley Tigers | 82–89 | London Towers |
| London Towers | 85–66 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| London win on aggregate, 174–148 |||
Worthing Bears vs. Derby Storm
| Worthing Bears | 86–88 | Derby Storm |
| Derby Storm | 93–99 | Worthing Bears |
| Worthing win on aggregate, 185–181 |||

### Semi-finals

London Towers vs. Birmingham Bullets
| London Towers | 64–62 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Birmingham Bullets | 75–92 | London Towers |
| London win on aggregate, 156–137 |||
Worthing Bears vs. Sheffield Sharks
| Worthing Bears | 86–87 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Sheffield Sharks | 69–72 | Worthing Bears |
| Worthing win on aggregate, 158–156 |||

### Final

* 13 January 1996
| London Towers | 90–84 | Worthing Bears |
| Pts: Tony Windless (MVP), Steve Bucknall, Danny Lewis, Martin Henlan, Roger Duhaney | | Pts: Colin Irish |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? London Coach Kevin Cadle Worthing Coach Colin Irish

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets)
* Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (London Towers)
* All-Star Team:
** Tony Dorsey (Birmingham Bullets)
** Karl Brown (Leopards)
** Steve Bucknall (London Towers)
** Todd Cauthorn (Sheffield Sharks)
** Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks)
** LaKeith Humphrey (Derby Storm)
** Colin Irish (Worthing Bears)
** Danny Lewis (London Towers)
** Mark Robinson (Manchester Giants)
** Tony Windless (London Towers)