2017–18 British Basketball League season

The 2017–18 BBL season was the 31st campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland.

2017–18 BBL season
League	British Basketball League
Season	2017–18
Duration	29 September 2017 – 29 April 2018 (Regular season) 4–20 May 2018 (Playoffs)
Number of games	198
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	BBC Sport FreeSports UNILAD LiveBasketball.TV
Regular season
League champions	Leicester Riders^[1]
Season MVP	Justin Robinson (London Lions)
Finals
Champions	Leicester Riders
Runners-up	London Lions
Finals MVP	TrayVonn Wright (Leicester Riders)
Records
Biggest home win	56 points Glasgow Rocks 118–62 Manchester Giants (6 October 2017) Worcester Wolves 122–66 Leeds Force (15 December 2017)
Biggest away win	88 points Leeds Force 60–148 Newcastle Eagles (29 September 2017)
Highest scoring	223 points Newcastle Eagles 119–104 Glasgow Rocks (6 October 2017)
BBL seasons
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The Leicester Riders became regular season champions for the third season in succession, winning 104–75 against Plymouth Raiders at the Plymouth Pavilions on 8 April 2018.^[1] The Riders then added the playoff title with an 81–60 win over the London Lions in the final.^[2] This victory gave Rob Paternostro's team a second consecutive treble, having won the BBL Trophy earlier in the campaign.^[3]

Teams

 

 

Bristol Flyers

 

Cheshire Phoenix

 

Glasgow Rocks

 

Leeds Force

 

Leicester Riders

 

London Lions

 

Manchester Giants

 

Newcastle Eagles

 

Plymouth Raiders

 

Sheffield Sharks

 

Surrey Scorchers

 

Worcester Wolves

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Locations of the 2017–18 BBL teams

Venues

Team	Location	Arena	Capacity
Bristol Flyers	Bristol	SGS WISE Arena	750
Cheshire Phoenix	Ellesmere Port	Cheshire Oaks Arena	1,400
Glasgow Rocks	Glasgow	Emirates Arena	6,500
Leeds Force	Leeds	Carnegie Sports Arena	500
Leicester Riders	Leicester	Leicester Arena	2,400
London Lions	London	Copper Box	7,000
Manchester Giants	Manchester	Trafford Powerleague Arena	1,100
Newcastle Eagles	Newcastle upon Tyne	Sport Central	3,000
Plymouth Raiders	Plymouth	Plymouth Pavilions	1,500
Sheffield Sharks	Sheffield	English Institute of Sport	1,000
Surrey Scorchers	Guildford	Surrey Sports Park	1,000
Worcester Wolves	Worcester	University of Worcester Arena	2,000

Personnel and sponsoring

Team	Head coach	Captain	Main jersey sponsor
Bristol Flyers	Andreas Kapoulas	Michael Vigor	RSG Group
Cheshire Phoenix	Ben Thomas	Orlan Jackman	Hillyer McKeown
Glasgow Rocks	Darryl Wood	Kieron Achara	The Forge Shopping Centre
Leeds Force	Danny Nelson	Isaac Mourier	ESH Group
Leicester Riders	Rob Paternostro	Tyler Bernardini	Jelson Homes
London Lions	Vince Macaulay	Joe Ikhinmwin	GLL
Manchester Giants	Danny Byrne	Callum Jones	University of Bolton
Newcastle Eagles	Fabulous Flournoy	Darius Defoe	ESH Group
Plymouth Raiders	Gavin Love	Zak Wells	Plessey
Sheffield Sharks	Atiba Lyons	Mike Tuck	BBraun
Surrey Scorchers	Creon Raftopoulos	Tayo Ogedengbe	University of Surrey
Worcester Wolves	Paul James	Alejandro Navajas	University of Worcester

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Leeds Force	Mika Turunen	Sacked	25 September 2017^[4]	Danny Nelson	25 September 2017^[4]
London Lions	Mariusz Karol	Mutual consent	5 January 2018^[5]	Vince Macaulay	5 January 2018^[5]
Glasgow Rocks	Tony Garbelotto	Personal reasons	19 February 2018^[6]	Darryl Wood	19 February 2018^[6]

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leicester Riders	33	28	5	2933	2479	+454	56	Qualification to playoffs
2	London Lions	33	23	10	2854	2480	+374	46
3	Newcastle Eagles	33	22	11	3023	2624	+399	44
4	Glasgow Rocks	33	21	12	2894	2693	+201	42
5	Surrey Scorchers	33	20	13	2876	2807	+69	40
6	Bristol Flyers	33	19	14	2673	2680	−7	38
7	Worcester Wolves	33	19	14	2933	2690	+243	38
8	Sheffield Sharks	33	18	15	2783	2648	+135	36
9	Cheshire Phoenix	33	15	18	2863	2861	+2	30
10	Plymouth Raiders	33	8	25	2723	2952	−229	16
11	Manchester Giants	33	4	29	2584	3134	−550	8
12	Leeds Force	33	1	32	2322	3413	−1091	2

Source: BBL

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	1	Leicester Riders	86	79	165
	8	Sheffield Sharks	73	67	140
								1	Leicester Riders	90	76	166
								6	Bristol Flyers	75	68	143
	3	Newcastle Eagles	97	60	157
	6	Bristol Flyers	86	77	163
															1	Leicester Riders	81
															2	London Lions	60
	4	Glasgow Rocks	82	99	181
	5	Surrey Scorchers	84	75	159
								4	Glasgow Rocks	78	77	155
								2	London Lions	78	91	169
	2	London Lions	85	94	179
	7	Worcester Wolves	84	90	174

Quarter-finals

The quarter-final matchups and tip-off times were confirmed by the league, on 30 April 2018.^[7]

(1) Leicester Riders vs. (8) Sheffield Sharks

5 May 2018 16:00

Report

Sheffield Sharks	73–86	Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 18–22, 18–19, 14–27
Pts: Chris Alexander (24) Rebs: Tony Wroblicky (7) Asts: Mackey McKnight (11)		Pts: Pierre Hampton (22) Rebs: Shane Walker (13) Asts: Rema Lascelles (7)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield

6 May 2018 16:00

Report

Leicester Riders	79–67	Sheffield Sharks
Scoring by quarter: 26–16, 16–19, 20–18, 17–14
Pts: J. R. Holder (20) Rebs: Shane Walker (10) Asts: J. R. Holder (5)		Pts: Dirk Williams (17) Rebs: Rob Marsden (12) Asts: Mackey McKnight (4)
Leicester Riders win 165–140 on aggregate.

Leicester Arena, Leicester

(2) London Lions vs. (7) Worcester Wolves

BBC Red Button

4 May 2018 19:30

Report

Worcester Wolves	84–85	London Lions
Scoring by quarter: 13–27, 26–25, 25–24, 20–9
Pts: George Beamon (25) Rebs: Dallin Bachynski (10) Asts: Trayvon Palmer (8)		Pts: Justin Robinson (28) Rebs: Cory Dixon (7) Asts: Jonathon Thompson (5)

University of Worcester Arena, Worcester

6 May 2018 16:00

Report

London Lions	94–90 (2OT)	Worcester Wolves
Scoring by quarter: 18–14, 24–23, 20–24, 16–18, Overtime: 8–8, 8–3
Pts: Cory Dixon (29) Rebs: Cory Dixon (17) Asts: Jonathon Thompson (7)		Pts: George Beamon (26) Rebs: Dallin Bachynski (16) Asts: Alejandro Navajas (6)
London Lions win 179–174 on aggregate.

Copper Box Arena, London

(3) Newcastle Eagles vs. (6) Bristol Flyers

4 May 2018 19:30

Report

Newcastle Eagles	97–86	Bristol Flyers
Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 19–25, 25–15, 29–30
Pts: Darius Defoe (25) Rebs: Zarko Jukić (10) Asts: Saah Nimley (12)		Pts: Rohndell Goodwin (20) Rebs: Jordan Davis (9) Asts: Jordan Davis (9)

Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne

6 May 2018 15:30

Report

Bristol Flyers	77–60	Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 20–14, 19–10, 19–17
Pts: Jordan Davis (17) Rebs: Leslee Smith (14) Asts: Jordan Davis (9)		Pts: Darius Defoe (23) Rebs: Darius Defoe (13) Asts: Fabulous Flournoy (5)
Bristol Flyers win 163–157 on aggregate.

SGS WISE Arena, Bristol

(4) Glasgow Rocks vs. (5) Surrey Scorchers

4 May 2018 19:30

Report

Surrey Scorchers	84–82	Glasgow Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 20–25, 13–16, 28–18
Pts: Tony Hicks (30) Rebs: Josh Steel (5) Asts: Tony Hicks (7)		Pts: Earl Brown (13) Rebs: Earl Brown (10) Asts: Warren Gillis (8)

Surrey Sports Park, Guildford

FreeSports

6 May 2018 17:00

Report

Glasgow Rocks	99–75	Surrey Scorchers
Scoring by quarter: 26–19, 23–19, 24–15, 26–22
Pts: Earl Brown (23) Rebs: Earl Brown (14) Asts: Kieron Achara, Earl Brown & Gareth Murray (3)		Pts: Alex Owumi (13) Rebs: Alex Owumi (6) Asts: Tayo Ogedengbe (4)
Glasgow Rocks win 181–159 on aggregate.

Emirates Arena, Glasgow

Semi-finals

The semi-final matchups and tip-off times were confirmed by the league, on 6 May 2018.^[8]

(1) Leicester Riders vs. (6) Bristol Flyers

11 May 2018 19:30

Report

Bristol Flyers	75–90	Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 18–20, 11–24, 24–21
Pts: Rohndell Goodwin (19) Rebs: Leslee Smith (10) Asts: Jordan Davis (9)		Pts: J. R. Holder (20) Rebs: J. R. Holder (11) Asts: Rema Lascelles (6)

SGS WISE Arena, Bristol Attendance: 700

FreeSports

13 May 2018 17:00

Report

Leicester Riders	76–68	Bristol Flyers
Scoring by quarter: 22–16, 11–25, 20–11, 23–16
Pts: Tyler Bernardini (22) Rebs: J. R. Holder (10) Asts: Kiefer Douse (7)		Pts: Brandon Boggs (19) Rebs: Brandon Boggs (8) Asts: Jordan Davis (7)
Leicester Riders win 166–143 on aggregate.

Leicester Arena, Leicester

(2) London Lions vs. (4) Glasgow Rocks

BBC Red Button

10 May 2018 19:30

Report

London Lions	78–78	Glasgow Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 28–11, 18–25, 11–20, 21–22
Pts: Cory Dixon (18) Rebs: Cory Dixon (11) Asts: Justin Robinson (8)		Pts: Warren Gillis (15) Rebs: Gareth Murray (9) Asts: Nate Britt (5)

Copper Box Arena, London

13 May 2018 17:00

Report

Glasgow Rocks	77–91	London Lions
Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 15–18, 18–19, 28–28
Pts: Gareth Murray (18) Rebs: Alasdair Fraser (9) Asts: Warren Gillis (5)		Pts: Jonathon Thompson (17) Rebs: Cory Dixon & Brandon Peel (8) Asts: Jonathon Thompson (5)
London Lions win 169–155 on aggregate.

Emirates Arena, Glasgow

Final

BBC Red Button FreeSports

20 May 2018 16:00

Report

Leicester Riders	81–60	London Lions
Scoring by quarter: 12–14, 27–14, 19–15, 23–17
Pts: J. R. Holder (20) Rebs: TrayVonn Wright (13) Asts: Tyler Bernardini & J. R. Holder (5)		Pts: Brandon Peel (22) Rebs: Brandon Peel (13) Asts: Justin Robinson (5)

The O2 Arena, London

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Coach of the Month	Player of the Month	Ref
October	Atiba Lyons (Sheffield Sharks)	Jaysean Paige (Newcastle Eagles)	^[9]^[10]
November	Mariusz Karol (London Lions)	C. J. Gettys (Cheshire Phoenix)	^[11]^[12]
December	Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders)	C. J. Gettys (Cheshire Phoenix)	^[13]^[14]
January	Ben Thomas (Cheshire Phoenix)	Cory Dixon (London Lions)	^[15]^[16]
February	Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders)	Tony Hicks (Surrey Scorchers)	^[17]^[18]
March	Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders)	Tony Hicks (Surrey Scorchers)	^[19]^[20]
April	Vince Macaulay (London Lions)	Brandon Peel (London Lions)	^[21]^[22]

Season awards

Award	Recipient(s)	Team	Ref
Season MVP	Justin Robinson	London Lions	^[23]
Coach of the Year	Rob Paternostro	Leicester Riders	^[24]
Finals MVP	TrayVonn Wright	Leicester Riders	^[25]
Trophy MVP	J. R. Holder	Leicester Riders	^[26]
Cup MVP	Malcolm Riley	Cheshire Phoenix	^[27]
BBL Team of the Year	C. J. Gettys	Cheshire Phoenix	^[28]
	Pierre Hampton	Leicester Riders
	Tony Hicks	Surrey Scorchers
	Jaysean Paige	Newcastle Eagles
	Justin Robinson	London Lions
BBL All-Defensive Team of the Year	Kieron Achara	Glasgow Rocks	^[29]
	Devan Bailey	Cheshire Phoenix
	Robert Gilchrist	Worcester Wolves
	Brandon Peel	London Lions
	Eric Robertson	Leicester Riders
BBL All-British Team of the Year	Kieron Achara	Glasgow Rocks	^[30]
	Alasdair Fraser	Glasgow Rocks
	Robert Gilchrist	Worcester Wolves
	Gareth Murray	Glasgow Rocks
	Justin Robinson	London Lions

See also

• 2017–18 BBL Cup
• 2017–18 BBL Trophy

References

1. "Riders make it a title hat trick". British Basketball League. MVP247.com. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
2. Dugdale, Rob (20 May 2018). "BBL play-off final: Leicester Riders beat London Lions to claim treble". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
3. Dugdale, Rob (4 March 2018). "BBL Trophy final: Leicester Riders beat Sheffield Sharks 90-85 for third successive title". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
4. "Coaching Changes For Force". Leeds Force. Leeds Force Basketball Limited. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
5. "Karol exits London". British Basketball League. MVP247.com. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
6. "Garbelotto out at Rocks and GB". Glasgow Rocks. MVP247.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
7. "BBL Quarter-finals Dates and Tips confirmed". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
8. "BBL Play-Off Semi-finals Dates and Tip-Off times set". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
9. "Lyons lands Molten BBL Coach of the Month award". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
10. "Paige picks up Molten BBL Player of the Month award". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
11. "Karol collects Molten BBL Coach of the Month award for November". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
12. Wheelock, Paul (6 December 2017). "Cheshire Phoenix star CJ Gettys named BBL Player of the Month". Chester Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
13. "Paternostro pips James to Molten BBL Coach of the Month award". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
14. "Gettys gets another Molten BBL Player of the Month gong". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
15. "Thomas takes Molten BBL Coach of the Month gong". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
16. "Dixon is crowned Molten BBL Player of the Month". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
17. "Paternostro named Molten BBL Coach of the Month". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
18. "Hicks handed Molten BBL Player of the Month gong". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
19. "Paternostro crowned Molten BBL Coach of the Month". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
20. "Hicks hangs on to Molten BBL Player of the Month crown". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
21. "Macaulay named Molten BBL Coach of the Month". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
22. "Peel picks up Molten BBL Player of the Month award". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
23. "British star Robinson crowned Molten BBL MVP for 2017-18". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
24. "Paternostro named Ed Percival Molten BBL Coach of the Year for a fifth time". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
25. "Reaction: Trayvonn Wright Play-Off Final MVP, Rob Paternostro and Tyler Bernardini". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
26. "Rookie Holder earns MVP award in Riders' Trophy triumph". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
27. "History for Cheshire Phoenix with first BBL Cup title". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
28. "Molten BBL Team of the Year 2017-18". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
29. "Molten BBL All-Defensive Team of the Year 2017-18". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
30. "Molten BBL All-British Team of the Year 2017-18". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

External links

• Official website

Preceded by 2016–17 season

BBL seasons 2017–18

Succeeded by 2018–19 season