2002–03 British Basketball League season

The 2002–03 BBL season was the 16th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League.

2002–03 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsSheffield Sharks
Play Off's championsScottish Rocks
National Cup championsBrighton Bears
BBL Trophy championsChester Jets

Teams
Locations of the 2002–03 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Birmingham Bullets Birmingham Aston Events Centre 2,000 5th (South)
Brighton Bears Brighton Brighton Centre &
Burgess Hill Triangle		 3,600
1,800		 2nd (South)
Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 1st (North)
Essex Leopards Brentwood Brentwood Centre 2,000 4th (South)
Leicester Riders Loughborough Loughborough University 1,000 5th (North)
London Towers London Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 3,500 1st (South)
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 3rd (North)
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Telewest Arena 6,500 3rd (North)
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 4th (North)
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Hallam FM Arena &
Ponds Forge		 8,500
1,600		 2nd (North)
Thames Valley Tigers Bracknell John Nike Sports Centre 1,000 6th (South)

Notable occurrences
  • Attracted by the opening of the brand-new 4,000-seat Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Edinburgh Rocks uprooted from their aging Meadowbank venue in Edinburgh and moved 45 miles west to Scotland's largest city Glasgow, and rebranded as the Scottish Rocks.[1] The move received a mixed response from fans; whilst many said that the move would not work, the official supporters club backed the franchise's decision.[2]
  • Although based in Brentwood, Essex for the past two years, Greater London Leopards eventually rebranded the franchise as the Essex Leopards prior to the season starting.
  • Due to a decreasing membership, the league abolished the Conference system it had imposed for the past three seasons and returned the regular single-league table set-up, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs.

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Sheffield Sharks 403370.82566
2Brighton Bears 4030100.75060
3Chester Jets 4028120.70056
4Thames Valley Tigers 4026140.65052
5Newcastle Eagles 4025150.62550
6Scottish Rocks 4022180.55044
7London Towers 4019210.47538
8Milton Keynes Lions 4012280.30024
9Birmingham Bullets 4011290.27522
10Essex Leopards 4011290.27522
11Leicester Riders 403370.0756
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
1 Sheffield Sharks 90 (OT)
8 Milton Keynes Lions 83
1 Sheffield Sharks 74
6 Scottish Rocks 76
3 Chester Jets 84
6 Scottish Rocks 89
6 Scottish Rocks 83
2 Brighton Bears 76
2 Brighton Bears 89
7 London Towers 82
2 Brighton Bears 88
5 Newcastle Eagles 83
4 Thames Valley Tigers 85
5 Newcastle Eagles 101

Quarter-finals
19 April 2003
Chester Jets 84–89 Scottish Rocks
Northgate Arena, Chester
19 April 2003
Thames Valley Tigers 85–101 Newcastle Eagles
John Nike Sports Centre, Bracknell

Semi-finals

Final
4 May 2003
5.00pm GMT
Brighton Bears 76–83 Scottish Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 23-18, 25-28, 20-20, 8-17
Pts: Sterling Davis 18, Ralph Blalock 17, Rico Alderson 13 Pts: Shawn Myers 26, Stephan Sheckles 14, Ryan Huntley 13, Billy Singleton 13

National League Conference (Tier 2)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Teesside Mohawks 222110.95542
2Plymouth Raiders 221840.81836
3Reading Rockets 221660.72732
4Worthing Thunder 221570.68230
5Manchester Magic 2212100.54524
6Kingston Wildcats 2211110.50022
7Sutton Pumas 2211110.50022
8Oxford Devils 2211110.50022
9Solent Stars 227150.31814
10Ware Rebels 224180.1828
11Hackney White Heat 223190.1366
12Coventry Crusaders 223190.1366
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

National Cup

Last 16
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Kingston WildcatsEssex Leopards73-102
Manchester MagicBirmingham Bullets82-85
Teesside MohawksLeicester Riders98-97
Scottish RocksChester Jets63-88
Solent StarsBrighton Bears60-99
Sheffield SharksNewcastle Eagles78-80
Plymouth RaidersThames Valley Tigers71-113
Milton Keynes LionsLondon Towers84-98

Quarter-finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Birmingham BulletsChester Jets94-98
Essex LeopardsLondon Towers89-100 OT
Brighton BearsNewcastle Eagles91-73
Teesside MohawksThames Valley Tigers84-111

Semi-finals
Team 1 Team 2 Score
Chester JetsThames Valley Tigers96-76
London TowersBrighton Bears80-84

Final
12 January 2003
Brighton Bears 89–79 Chester Jets
Pts: Wilbur Johnson (MVP) 24, Ralph Blalock 22, Sterling Davis 15 Pts: John McCord 28, Kenny Gregory 25, Pero Cameron 15

BBL Trophy

This season's BBL Trophy featured all 11 BBL teams plus one invited teams from the English Basketball League, the Teesside Mohawks to bring the total number of teams divided evenly. The First round saw all 12 teams split into four regionalised groups with the top finishing team advancing to the semi-finals.

Group stage

Semi-finals

Final
15 March 2003
Chester Jets 84–82 London Towers
Scoring by quarter: 30-26, 26-17, 13-22, 15-17
Pts: Kenny Gregory 24, Todd Cauthorn 19, John McCord 16 Pts: Kendrick Warren 21, Theo Dixon 18, Shaheen Holloway 15

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStat
Points per gameUnited States Kenny Gregory (Chester Jets)24.7
Rebounds per gameUnited States David Fisher (Essex Leopards)10.5
Assists per gameUnited States John Thomas (Chester Jets)7.3

References
  1. Mark Woods (2002-07-04). "Rocks leave Edinburgh behind". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
  2. Gordon Scott (2002-06-19). "Rocks fan club would back team in Glasgow". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
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