2003–04 British Basketball League season

The 2003–04 BBL season was the 17th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League.

2003–04 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsBrighton Bears
Play Off's championsSheffield Sharks
BBL Cup championsSheffield Sharks
BBL Trophy championsChester Jets

Teams
Locations of the 2003–04 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Birmingham Bullets Birmingham Birmingham Sports Centre 1,000 9th
Brighton Bears Brighton Brighton Centre &
Burgess Hill Triangle		 3,600
1,800		 2nd
Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 3rd
Leicester Riders Loughborough Loughborough University 1,200 11th
London Towers London Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 3,500 7th
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 8th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Telewest Arena 6,500 5th
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 6th
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield Hallam FM Arena &
Ponds Forge		 8,500
1,600		 1st
Thames Valley Tigers Bracknell John Nike Sports Centre 1,000 4th

Notable occurrences
  • Due to uncertainty regarding the future of Aston Events Centre, the Birmingham Bullets were forced to relocate to a new home venue. Their first games of the campaign were postponed until a suitable venue could be found, with the owner Craig Bown eventually acquiring the use of Birmingham Sports Centre for the duration of the season.[1]
  • With their 68–66 win in the BBL Trophy Final against Brighton Bears, Chester Jets made history as the first team to win the Trophy for four consecutive seasons.[2]

BBL championship (Tier 1)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Brighton Bears 363060.83360
2Sheffield Sharks 3626100.72252
3London Towers 3623130.63846
4Scottish Rocks 3623130.63846
5Chester Jets 3621150.58342
6Newcastle Eagles 3618180.50036
7Thames Valley Tigers 3618180.50036
8Milton Keynes Lions 3613230.36226
9Leicester Riders 365310.13810
10Birmingham Bullets 362340.0554
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
1 Brighton Bears 91
8 Milton Keynes Lions 83
1 Brighton Bears 79
5 Chester Jets 80
4 Scottish Rocks 83
5 Chester Jets 86
5 Chester Jets 74
2 Sheffield Sharks 86
2 Sheffield Sharks 118
7 Thames Valley Tigers 110
2 Sheffield Sharks 94
3 London Towers 88
3 London Towers 96
6 Newcastle Eagles 94

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final
2 May 2004
6.00 pm GMT
Sheffield Sharks 86–74 Chester Jets
Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 26–19, 16–17, 26–19
Pts: Lynard Stewart 25, Rob Yanders 19, Justin Phoenix 12, Nate Reinking 12 Pts: Michael Nurse 21, John McCord 18, Calvin Davis 14

EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts
1Plymouth Raiders 222020.90940
2Reading Rockets 221750.77334
3Teesside Mohawks 221660.72732
4Manchester Magic 221660.72732
5Worthing Thunder 221570.68230
6London United 2211110.50022
7City of Sheffield Arrows 2210120.45520
8Ware Rebels 229130.40918
9Sutton Pumas 227150.31814
10Solent Stars 224180.1828
11Kingston Wildcats 224180.1828
12Bath Romans 223190.1366
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Haribo Cup

This season saw the first edition of the newly created Haribo Cup. Following the BBL's decision to withdraw from the National Cup due to import player regulations, the League's newest competition saw all 10 teams competing in a knock-out style tournament culminating in the Grand Final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Leicester Riders 100
London Towers 112
London Towers 81
Sheffield Sharks 90
Milton Keynes Lions 74
Sheffield Sharks 85
Sheffield Sharks 83
Scottish Rocks 70
Birmingham Bullets 96
Thames Valley Tigers 105
Thames Valley Tigers 104
Scottish Rocks 105 (OT)
Scottish Rocks 86 (OT)
Newcastle Eagles 82

First round
26 October 2003
Chester Jets 79–95 Newcastle Eagles
Northgate Arena, Chester

Quarter-finals
8 November 2003
Birmingham Bullets 96–105 Thames Valley Tigers
Birmingham Sports Centre, Birmingham
9 November 2003
Scottish Rocks 86–82 (OT) Newcastle Eagles

Semi-finals

Final
11 January 2004
Sheffield Sharks 83–70 Scottish Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 24–14, 22–22, 18–28, 19–6
Pts: H.L. Coleman 22, Lynard Stewart 17, Nate Reinking 13 Pts: Jerry Williams 26, Terence McGee 15, Michael Martin 12

BBL Trophy

Due to the lack of teams competing in this season's Championship, the BBL Trophy featured all 10 BBL teams plus two invited teams from the English Basketball League (Plymouth Raiders and Teesside Mohawks). The First round saw all 12 teams divided into four regionalised groups with the top finishing team advancing to the Semi-finals.

Group stage

Semi-finals

Final
13 March 2004
Brighton Bears 66–68 Chester Jets
Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 17–17, 17–15, 11–15
Pts: Kendrick Warren 17, Mike Brown 14, Rico Alderson 12 Pts: John McCord 19 (MVP), Michael Nurse 13, Billy Singleton 11
Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield
Attendance: 5,000

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStat
Points per gameUnited States Mike Pegues (Leicester Riders)24.7
Rebounds per gameUnited States Shawn Jamison (Milton Keynes Lions)11.6
Assists per gameUnited States Italy Rob Paternostro (Birmingham Bullets)7.8

References
  1. "Bullets move home". 2003. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  2. "Jets create history". BBC News. 13 March 2004. Archived from the original on 5 May 2004. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
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