2003–04 British Basketball League season
# 2003–04 British Basketball League season

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

## 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.
* 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.

## BBL championship (Tier 1)

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Brighton Bears | 36 | 30 | 6 | 0.833 | 60 |
| 2 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 52 |
| 3 | London Towers | 36 | 23 | 13 | 0.638 | 46 |
| 4 | Scottish Rocks | 36 | 23 | 13 | 0.638 | 46 |
| 5 | Chester Jets | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 6 | Newcastle Eagles | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0.500 | 36 |
| 7 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0.500 | 36 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Lions | 36 | 13 | 23 | 0.362 | 26 |
| 9 | Leicester Riders | 36 | 5 | 31 | 0.138 | 10 |
| 10 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 2 | 34 | 0.055 | 4 |

* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs

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

**Quarter-finals**

* 17 April 2004

| Brighton Bears | 91–83 | Milton Keynes Lions |
| - | - | - |

* Brighton Centre, Brighton
* 17 April 2004

| London Towers | 94–92 | Newcastle Eagles |
| - | - | - |

* Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London
* 18 April 2004

| Scottish Rocks | 83–86 | Chester Jets |
| - | - | - |

* Braehead Arena, Glasgow
* 18 April 2004

| Sheffield Sharks | 118–100 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| - | - | - |

* Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield

**Semi-finals**

* 1 May 2004

| Brighton Bears | 79–80 | Chester Jets |
| - | - | - |

* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
* 1 May 2004

| Sheffield Sharks | 94–88 | London Towers |
| - | - | - |

* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

**Final**

* 2 May 2004 6.00 pm GMT
* Report

| 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 |

* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0.909 | 40 |
| 2 | Reading Rockets | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.773 | 34 |
| 3 | Teesside Mohawks | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Manchester Magic | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 5 | Worthing Thunder | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0.682 | 30 |
| 6 | London United | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 7 | City of Sheffield Arrows | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 8 | Ware Rebels | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 9 | Sutton Pumas | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
| 10 | Solent Stars | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 11 | Kingston Wildcats | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 12 | Bath Romans | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |

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

### First round

* 26 October 2003

| Sheffield Sharks | 83–70 | Brighton Bears |
| - | - | - |

* Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield
* 26 October 2003

| Chester Jets | 79–95 | Newcastle Eagles |
| - | - | - |

* Northgate Arena, Chester

### Quarter-finals

* 8 November 2003

| Leicester Riders | 100–112 | London Towers |
| - | - | - |

* Loughborough University, Loughborough
* 8 November 2003

| Birmingham Bullets | 96–105 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| - | - | - |

* Birmingham Sports Centre, Birmingham
* 9 November 2003

| Milton Keynes Lions | 74–85 | Sheffield Sharks |
| - | - | - |

* Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes Lions
* 9 November 2003

| Scottish Rocks | 86–82 (OT) | Newcastle Eagles |
| - | - | - |

* Braehead Arena, Glasgow

### Semi-finals

* 29 November 2003

| London Towers | 81–90 | Sheffield Sharks |
| - | - | - |

* Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London
* 29 November 2003

| Thames Valley Tigers | 104–105 (OT) | Scottish Rocks |
| - | - | - |

* Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London

### Final

* 11 January 2004
* Report

| 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 |

* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## 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

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1.Scottish Rocks | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Newcastle Eagles | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Teesside Mohawks | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.London Towers | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 2.Milton Keynes Lions | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 3.Birmingham Bullets | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| 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 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Thames Valley Tigers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Plymouth Raiders | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |

### Semi-finals

* 7 February 2004

| Brighton Bears | 86–73 | London Towers |
| - | - | - |

* Ponds Forge, Sheffield
* 7 February 2004

| Chester Jets | 91–85 | Scottish Rocks |
| - | - | - |

* Ponds Forge, Sheffield

### Final

* 13 March 2004
* Report

| 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

| Category | Player | Stat |
| - | - | - |
| Points per game | Mike Pegues (Leicester Riders) | 24.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Shawn Jamison (Milton Keynes Lions) | 11.6 |
| Assists per game | Rob Paternostro (Birmingham Bullets) | 7.8 |
