1979–80 National Basketball League season

The 1979–80 Rotary Watches National Basketball League season was the eighth season of the National Basketball League formed in 1972.[1]

1979–80 National Basketball League season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Number of teams10
Roll of Honour
National League championsCrystal Palace Chevrons
  National League runners-upDoncaster Ziebart Panthers
Play-offs championsCrystal Palace Chevrons
  Play-offs runners-upCoventry Team Fiat
National Cup championsCrystal Palace Chevrons
  National Cup runners-upDoncaster Ziebart Panthers

The league was sponsored by Rotary Watches for the second consecutive year and Crystal Palace won an unprecedented treble of League, Playoffs and National Cup. Crystal Palace were helped by Alton Byrd who would become the best known name in British basketball and won the season MVP award.[2]

Team changes

Malcolm Chamberlain, the owner of the London Metros uprooted the team and relocated them from London to Kingston upon Thames and to the Tolworth Recreation Centre rebranding them as Kingston. With their added sponsorship they would be known as Kelly Girls International Kingston. Guildford Pirates the NBL Division 2 champions joined the league and following a sponsorship deal would be Team Talbot, Guildford. Runners-up Hemel Hempstead also joined the league and would be known as Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine playing at Bletchley Leisure Centre. The Blackpool Pacemakers completed the newcomers to the league. The Milton Keynes All-Stars, Loughborough All-Stars, Exeter St Lukes TSB and Bracknell Bullets all dropped out.

National League standings

Division One
Pos Team P W L F A Pts
1Crystal Palace Chevrons181801936149836
2Doncaster Ziebart Panthers181441751167328
3Coventry Team Fiat181441788164428
4Hemel Hempstead Ovaltine181261686163424
5Kelly Girls International Kingston181081836170220
6Sunderland Sunblest18991672168318
7Stockport Belgrade18513176318749
8Manchester ATS Giants18315153317546
9Blackpool Pacemakers18315161218396
10Team Talbot, Guildford Pirates18216159218734

Division Two

Team Hemeling Birmingham, Brunel Uxbridge, Panasonic Plymouth, Camden & Hampstead, Exeter, Leeds, Brighton, Nottingham

Rotary Watches playoffs

Semi-Finals
venue & date Team 1 Team 2 Score
March 14, Wembley ArenaDoncaster Ziebart PanthersCoventry Team Fiat84-100
March 14, Wembley ArenaCrystal Palace ChevronsHemel Hempstead Ovaltine98-75

Third Place
venue & date Team 1 Team 2 Score
March 15, Wembley ArenaDoncaster Ziebart PanthersHemel Hempstead Ovaltine84-75

Final
15 March
Crystal Palace Chevrons 93–85 Coventry Team Fiat
Pts: Mark Saiers 26 Pts: Greg White (MVP) 38

[3]

Butlins National Cup Final
25 January 1980
Crystal Palace Chevrons 97–67 Doncaster Ziebart Panthers
Pts: Peter Jeremich 21, Mark Saiers 17
Sheffield
gollark: We simulated all possible strategies you could use. They were bad. Really bad.
gollark: Maybe you're naive enough to believe the fake telemetry being transmitted using their keys, but we aren't.
gollark: Yes. They're actually quite bad.
gollark: We configured that across APIONET.
gollark: 16.

References
  1. Matthews & Morrison, Peter & Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records & Results. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  2. "Men's Senior League Winners". Basketball England.
  3. "Nicholas Harling. "Basketball." Times [London, England] 17 Mar. 1980". The Times Digital Archive.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.