# 1988–89 British Basketball League season

The 1988–89 BBL season was the second season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons) since its establishment in 1987. The season featured a total of 11 teams, playing 20 games each. The league had suffered in the 1989 close season because Portsmouth was wound up followed by Calderdale Explorers and Birmingham Bullets both dropping out of the league. Bolton and Bury Giants became the Olympic City Giants and Kingston moved north of the border playing as Glasgow Rangers. The new season was supposed to feature 12 teams, however Oldham Celtics dropped out of the league and into the National League (Tier 2) after just one game, due to financial difficulties.
The season was dominated by the success of the league's two Scottish teams Glasgow Rangers and Livingston, who finished the regular season in first and second place respectively. Glasgow's Kevin Cadle and Alan Cunningham were also named as the league's Coach and Player of the year, however the Scottish dominance was broken by Bracknell Tigers who were victorious in the League Trophy against Livingston in the Final.
Below the Carlsberg League in the National League Division 1, it came as no surprise that Oldham Celtics sealed the title bearing in mind that they had originally planned to play in the top tier.

## Carlsberg League (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Glasgow Rangers | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.900 | 36 |
| 2 | Livingston | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 3 | Bracknell Tigers | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 4 | Leicester City Riders | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 5 | Manchester Eagles | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 6 | Sunderland 76ers | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 7 | Hemel Royals | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 | 18 |
| 8 | Olympic City Giants | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 8 |
| 9 | Solent Stars | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 8 |
| 10 | Derby Rams | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0.100 | 4 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals

(1) Glasgow Rangers vs. (8) Olympic City Giants
| Olympic City Giants | 96–117 | Glasgow Rangers |
| Glasgow Rangers | 125–95 | Olympic City Giants |
| Glasgow win series, 2–0 |||
(2) Livingston vs. (7) Hemel Royals
| Hemel Royals | 78–92 | Livingston |
| Livingston | 108–105 | Hemel Royals |
| Livingston win series, 2–0 |||
(3) Sunderland 76ers vs. (6) Bracknell Tigers
| Sunderland 76ers | 86–96 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Bracknell Tigers | 110–96 | Sunderland 76ers |
| Bracknell win series, 2–0 |||
(4) Leicester City Riders vs. (5) Manchester Eagles
| Manchester Eagles | 83–89 | Leicester City Riders |
| Leicester City Riders | 80–74 | Manchester Eagles |
| Leicester win series, 2–0 |||

#### Semi-finals

* 15 April 1989
| Glasgow Rangers | 87–67 | Leicester City Riders |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
* 15 April 1989
| Livingston | 72–63 | Bracknell Tigers |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

#### Third place

* 16 April 1989
| Bracknell Tigers | 106–89 | Leicester City Riders |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

#### Final

* 16 April 1989
* Report
| Glasgow Rangers | 89–86 | MIM Livingston |
| Pts: Butch Hayes 27, Joel Moore 22, Alan Cunningham 19, Jim Morrisson 13, Tony McDaid, Danny Davis, Alan Riddle, John Duncan, Terry Mangham, Martin Clark | | Pts: Vic Fleming 30, Ralton Way 19, Iain McLean 15, Tommy Collier 10, Lewis Young, Graeme Hill, Steve Hoffman, Alan Ryan, Derek Frame, Jason Fogarty |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? Glasgow coach – Kevin Cadle Livingston coach – Ian Gordon

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Oldham Celtics | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0.850 | 34 |
| 2 | Brixton Topcats | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0.850 | 34 |
| 3 | Birmingham Bullets | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 4 | Worthing Bears | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 5 | Gateshead Vikings | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 6 | Plymouth Raiders | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0.500 | 20 |
| 7 | Oxford Park | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 8 | Cheshire Jets | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 9 | Corby Flyers | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 8 |
| 10 | Stockport Giants | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
| 11 | Tower Hamlets | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0.000 | 0 |
* = League winners

## Coca-Cola National Cup
### Second Round

| Cheshire Jets | 67–91 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Plymouth Raiders | 73–117 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Derby Rams | 106–66 | Walsall |
| Oxford Park | vs. | w/o |
| Olympic City Giants | vs. | Leicester City Riders |
| Crystal Palace | 98–69 | Stevenage |
| Hemel Hempstead Watford Royals | 113–100 | Worthing Bears |
| Oldham Celtics | 89–100 | Manchester Eagles |

### Quarter-finals

| Birmingham Bullets | 77–80 | Olympic City Giants |
| Bracknell Tigers | 103–75 | Crystal Palace |
| Derby Rams | 37–43 + | Hemel Hempstead Watford Royals |
| Manchester Eagles | 123–59 | Oxford Park |
+ Derby expelled after match was abandoned following a scuffle

### Semi-finals

* 17 March 1989
| Bracknell Tigers | 80–75 | Olympic City Giants |
* London Arena
* 17 March 1989
| Hemel Hempstead Watford Royals | 77–79 | Manchester Eagles |
* London Arena

### Final

* 18 March 1989
| Bracknell Tigers | 87–75 | Manchester Eagles |
| Pts: Brian Kellybrew (MVP) 24, Peter Scantlebury 11, Mike Hayles 10, Paul James 10, Dale Roberts | | Pts: Dave Gardner 21, Colin Irish 12, Lang 10 |
* London Arena Attendance: Bracknell HC Jim Guymon Manchester HC Jeff Jones

## NatWest Trophy
### Group stage

North Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1. Glasgow Rangers | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2. Livingston | 16 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0.800 |
| 3. Manchester Eagles | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0.500 |
| 4. Olympic City Giants | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0.500 |
| 5. Sunderland 76ers | 4 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0.200 |
| 6. Oldham Celtics | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0.000 |
South Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1. Bracknell Tigers | 18 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0.900 |
| 2. Leicester City Riders | 14 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.700 |
| 3. Solent Stars | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0.600 |
| 4. Derby Rams | 6 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0.300 |
| 5. Hemel Royals | 6 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0.300 |
| 6. Crystal Palace | 4 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0.200 |
Despite dropping out of the Carlsberg League and into the National League after just one game of the season, Oldham Celtics continued their schedule in the League Trophy.

### Quarter-finals

Glasgow Rangers vs. Olympic City Giants
| Olympic City Giants | 84–111 | Glasgow Rangers |
| Glasgow Rangers | 107–70 | Olympic City Giants |
| Glasgow win on aggregate, 218–154 |||
Livingston vs. Manchester Eagles
| Livingston | 77–58 | Manchester Eagles |
| Manchester Eagles | 74–72 | Livingston |
| Livingston win on aggregate, 149–132 |||
Bracknell Tigers vs. Derby Rams
| Derby Rams | 68–107 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Bracknell Tigers | 114–73 | Derby Rams |
| Bracknell win on aggregate, 221–141 |||
Leicester City Riders vs. Solent Stars
| Solent Stars | 79–86 | Leicester City Riders |
| Leicester City Riders | 108–83 | Solent Stars |
| Leicester win on aggregate, 194–162 |||

### Semi-finals

Glasgow Rangers vs. Livingston
| Livingston | 92–88 | Glasgow Rangers |
| Glasgow Rangers | 63–62 | Livingston |
| Livingston win on aggregate, 154–151 |||
Bracknell Tigers vs. Leicester City Riders
| Bracknell Tigers | 90–82 | Leicester City Riders |
| Leicester City Riders | 67–77 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Bracknell win on aggregate, 167–149 |||

### Final

* 25 February 1989
| Bracknell Tigers | 89–81 | Livingston |
| Pts: Trevor Gordon 20, Dale Roberts 15, Peter Scantlebury 11, Brian Kellybrew 11 | | Pts: Tommy Collier 18, Iain McLean 16, Vic Fleming 16, Ralton Way 13 |
* Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? Bracknell coach – Brian Kellybrew Livingston coach – Ian Gordon

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Alan Cunningham (Glasgow Rangers)
* Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (Glasgow Rangers)
* All-Star Team:
** Tony Balogun (Leicester City Riders)
** Jimmy Brandon (Leicester City Riders)
** Tommy Collier (Livingston)
** Alan Cunningham (Glasgow Rangers)
** Dan Davis (Glasgow Rangers)
** Lorenzo Duncan (Hemel Royals)
** Butch Hays (Glasgow Rangers)
** Russ Saunders (Sunderland 76ers)
** Phil Smith (Solent Stars)
** Clyde Vaughan (Sunderland 76ers)