# 2004–05 British Basketball League season

The 2004–05 BBL 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 the English Basketball League Division 1.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena | Capacity | Last season |
| Birmingham Bullets | Birmingham | North Solihull Sports Centre | 1,000 | 10th |
| Brighton Bears | Brighton | Brighton Centre & Burgess Hill Triangle | 3,600 1,800 | 1st |
| Chester Jets | Chester | Northgate Arena | 1,000 | 5th |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | John Sanford Centre | 800 | 9th |
| London Towers | London | Crystal Palace National Sports Centre | 1,500 | 3rd |
| Milton Keynes Lions | Milton Keynes | Bletchley Centre | 800 | 8th |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Metro Radio Arena | 6,500 | 6th |
| Plymouth Raiders | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | 1,480 | New |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | Ponds Forge | 1,600 | 2nd |
| Scottish Rocks | Glasgow | Braehead Arena | 4,000 | 4th |
| Thames Valley Tigers | Bracknell | John Nike Sports Centre | 1,000 | 7th |

## Notable occurrences

* Following the withdrawal of major sponsor, Brighton Bears pulled out of the FIBA Europe League just weeks before the start of the tournament, meaning that no British teams would be competing in European competition for the current season.
* Plymouth Raiders played, and won, their first game in the BBL on 2 October 2004, beating the visiting Milton Keynes Lions in a low-scoring game that finished 63–46 in favour of the rookies.
* The first piece of silverware up for gabs, the BBL Cup, was won by Brighton Bears after defeating Scottish Rocks, 90–74 in the final at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham.
* Newcastle Eagles won their first title in 13 years after upsetting Brighton in the BBL Trophy Final, which was played at The Brighton Centre. Eagles ran out 85–60 winners in a very one-sided spectacle.
* Leicester Riders moved back to the city of Leicester after securing a venue and sponsorship with De Montfort University.

## BBL championship (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Chester Jets | 40 | 32 | 8 | 0.800 | 64 |
| 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 40 | 31 | 9 | 0.775 | 62 |
| 3 | London Towers | 40 | 29 | 11 | 0.725 | 58 |
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.650 | 52 |
| 5 | Brighton Bears | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 44 |
| 6 | Scottish Rocks | 40 | 19 | 21 | 0.475 | 38 |
| 7 | Thames Valley Tigers | 40 | 18 | 22 | 0.450 | 36 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Lions | 40 | 15 | 25 | 0.375 | 30 |
| 9 | Plymouth Raiders | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.300 | 24 |
| 10 | Leicester Riders | 40 | 11 | 29 | 0.275 | 22 |
| 11 | Birmingham Bullets | 40 | 5 | 35 | 0.125 | 10 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Chester Jets | 81 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Lions | 71 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Lions | 71 | 1 | Chester Jets | 74 | | | |
| | | | 6 | Scottish Rocks | 72 | | | |
| 3 | London Towers | 63 | 6 | Scottish Rocks | 72 | | | |
| 6 | Scottish Rocks | 65 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Scottish Rocks | 65 | | | | 1 | Chester Jets | 75 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 78 |
| 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 105 | | | | | | | 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 78 |
| 7 | Thames Valley Tigers | 72 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Thames Valley Tigers | 72 | 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 75 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 65 | | | |
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 91 | 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 65 | | | |
| 5 | Brighton Bears | 56 | | | | | | |

#### Quarter-finals

* 15 April 2005
| Newcastle Eagles | 105–72 | Thames Valley Tigers |
* Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 16 April 2005
| London Towers | 63–65 | Scottish Rocks |
* Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London
* 16 April 2005
| Sheffield Sharks | 91–56 | Brighton Bears |
* Ponds Forge, Sheffield
* 17 April 2005
| Chester Jets | 81–71 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

#### Semi-finals

* 30 April 2005
| Chester Jets | 74–72 | Scottish Rocks |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
* 30 April 2005
| Newcastle Eagles | 75–65 | Sheffield Sharks |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

#### Final

* 1 May 2005
* Report
| Chester Jets | 75–78 | Newcastle Eagles |
| Scoring by quarter: 14–13, 24–24, 22–18, 15–23 |||
| Pts: Trey Moore 20, DJ Harrison 14, Billy Singleon 13 | | Pts: Andrew Sullivan (MVP) 27, TJ Walker 15, Frank Bennett 9, Jeremy Hyatt 9, Charles Smith 9 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Attendance: ? Jets coach Paul Smith Eagles coach Fab Flournoy

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | City of Sheffield Arrows | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0.955 | 42 |
| 2 | London United | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0.818 | 36 |
| 3 | Reading Rockets | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Worcester Wolves | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 26 |
| 5 | Worthing Thunder | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 26 |
| 6 | Manchester Magic | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 24 |
| 7 | Teesside Mohawks | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 8 | Essex & Herts Leopards | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 9 | PAWS London Capital | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
| 10 | Solent Stars | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 11 | Kingston Wildcats | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 12 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

## EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Nottingham Knights | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.900 | 36 |
| 2 | Mansfield Express | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 3 | West Hertfordshire Warriors | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 4 | King's Lynn Fury | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 | 18 |
| 6 | Colchester United | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 7 | Bath Romans | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 8 | Leicester Phoenix | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | Northampton Neptunes | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0.350 | 14 |
| 10 | Hackney White Heat | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0.250 | 10 |
| 11 | Tamar Valley Cannons | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 8 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

## BBL Cup
### First round

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Leicester Riders | Thames Valley Tigers | 77-95 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Plymouth Raiders | 73-75 |
| London Towers | Newcastle Eagles | 84-86 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Brighton Bears | Milton Keynes Lions | 78-68 |
| Scottish Rocks | Chester Jets | 90-75 |

### Final

* 16 January 2005
* Report
| Brighton Bears | 90–74 | Scottish Rocks |
| Pts: Andrew Alleyne (MVP) 27, Ryan Huntley 22, Tony Holley 14, Steve Lepore 8, Yorick Williams 8, Ajou Deng 8, Rahdi Knapp 3 | | Pts: Donald Cole 22, Tony Windless 13, Adrian Henning 10, Lamont McIntosh 10, Philip Perre 10, Roni Gordon 6, Dan Wardrope 3 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Attendance: ? Bears coach Nick Nurse Rocks coach Steve Swanson

## BBL Trophy
### Group stage

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Newcastle Eagles | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Scottish Rocks | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Teesside Mohawks | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.London Towers | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Milton Keynes Lions | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| 3.Birmingham Bullets | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Chester Jets | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 2.Sheffield Sharks | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 3.Leicester Riders | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Brighton Bears | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 2.Plymouth Raiders | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Thames Valley Tigers | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |

### Semi-finals

* 20 January 2005
| Brighton Bears | 87–84 | London Towers |
* Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
* 20 January 2005
| Newcastle Eagles | 92–87 | Chester Jets |
* Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

### Final

* 6 March 2005
* Report
| Brighton Bears | 60–85 | Newcastle Eagles |
| Pts: Ronnie Baker 21, Steve Lepore 13, Andrew Alleyne 9 Cheyne Gadson 9 | | Pts: Jeremy Hyatt, 22, Charles Smith (MVP) 18, Frank Bennett 13, TJ Walker 12 |
* Brighton Centre, Brighton Attendance: ? Bears coach Nick Nurse Eagles coach Fab Flournoy

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Stat |
| Points per game | Trey Moore (Chester Jets) | 22.8 |
| Rebounds per game | Terrence Durham (Plymouth Raiders) | 13.6 |
| Assists per game | TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles) | 7.3 |