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A HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUES. 5f. INTO EUROPE, 1976-1977: Well before soccer invented the "Champions League", basketball in Europe had adopted a format that enabled teams to play a number of matches, with the Men's Champions' Cup introducing Preliminary Pools in 1976, with the Pool winners progressing to a six-team Final Pool, and a Final between the top two from what "Basketball" described as "a veritable European super-league". The first match of the campaign turned into a veritable tragi-comedy for Cinzano SCP, as the now-seasoned campaigners set off for Switzerland. Jimmy Carmichael missed the flight to Basle, and had to make his own way to join up with the team, but not before having picked up a ticket for speeding in a bus lane in a futile attempt to reach the airport on time. At least his delay saved him from sharing his team-mates' experience on top of the Gotthard Pass, where his team mates only avoided being stranded at the inn at the inn, by the snow, by a matter of half an hour. Arriving in Lugano, looking forward to relaxing after their gruelling journey, SCP found themselves, instead, locked in furious debate with the local TV producer, who was insisting that the advertising on the front of their shirts must be removed, or he would refuse to show the game. In fact this was still the rule in England, where broadcasting regulations forbad adverting except in the set commercial breaks (and altogether on BBC), and both Cinzano and Embassy had had to "cover up" in the televised Cup Final. However, two things weighed in SCP's favour - that shirt advertising was far more common in Europe, and that basketball was far more popular, so that television needed the game. Since their sponsor was far more interested in European exposure, and competition, than in how SCP fared in the comparatively minor English League, SCP dug in their heels, and flatly refused to remove the advert. Realising that he would lose viewers (and even, perhaps, risk his job), the producer was forced to climb down. So, first blood went to Sutton, but things continued to refuse to go their way during the game itself, and they lost Willie Cameron midway through the first half, as he departed to hospital for treatment to damaged knee ligaments. Even so, the English champions still only trailed by seven at the half, and fought their way into the lead during the second period, until the Swiss team's non-nationals stepped up. American Stu Johnson hit a game-high 41 points, and Mexican veteran Manuel Raga added 35, contributing 78% of their team's tally and helping them to snatch a five point victory. Nor was there any relief for Palace the following week, as they played host to Championship favourites, Real Madrid! As "basketball" commented at the time, "Cinzano could not match the brilliant Spaniards, with their naturalised Americans Wayne Brabender and Clifford Luyk giving them a marked advantage over squads that have to make do with just two foreign players." That remark, of course, raised a storm of controversy, in the already heated debate over restriction of foreign players, but the reality was that the 2,000 fans who packed into the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace showed that there was a real desire to watch top class competition. The 46 point home drubbing left Palace struggling at the foot of the Pool, but they proceeded to show their class and determination with a stunning 39 point road victory over Sporting Lisbon, in Portugal, and followed that up with revenge at home to Lugano, by 14. The inevitable away defeat in Madrid followed, and though Cinzano made heavy going of their final game, at home to Lisbon, winning by just three points, they finished level on points with Lugano, taking second place by virtue of points difference in the games between them. Palace had shown that they could live with all but the very best European opponents, but, as they went through the domestic season undefeated, success in Europe became the new Holy Grail - and their player recruitment in pursuit of their dream was to have a profound, and lasting, impact on the game in England.
While Palace were strutting their stuff in the "Champions' League", Embassy All-Stars were showing that English basketball as a whole had progressed, as they became the first English team to win a competitive match against a French team, with their four point home victory over Villeurbanne. That, though, was not enough to take them through to the second round, as the French showed the importance of home advantage, romping away to a 23 point victory in the second leg. To rub salt into Embassy's wounds, the Scots' entrants in the Cup Winners' Cup did progress to the next stage, although to be fair they did only face opposition from Iceland in the First Round, and Boroughmuir relied on a hefty 27 point home victory to see them through, only shading the away leg by one point. Their "reward" for that success was a Second Round match-up with Juventud Badalona, from Spain, and a first leg 45 point hammering at home sealed the Scots' fate.
It was not only the men who competed in Europe this year, as Southgate, who had finished fourth out of five in the inaugural Women's League, entered the Ronchetti Cup. Their coach, Vic Kerton, wrote about the experience in "Basketball" magazine, and he highlighted the differences between their German opponents in the Second Round (the Londoners having had a bye in Round One) and themselves. These included: The benefit of Bayern Munich FC's administrative staff working for the basketball team, with experience of big match promotions, and the ready availability of office equipment, while Southgate had to rely on players and volunteers for everything from fundraising to issuing press releases. The biggest difference, though, was in the facilities available, with Munich having free access to the Bayern Munich Hall for training, and to a nearby arena for their matches, while they were also provided with footwear, clothing, balls, laundry, physiotherapy, a sauna ... and club medical treatment. Despite all these advantages, and the fact that Bayern had the pick of Bavaria's best players, Vic was rather less complimentary about their play. Their players were, indeed "... fitter, and more athletic and generally bigger ..." but they "... did not appear as tactically sophisticated as Southgate" and "could not match the skills of our best players." Nontheless, with the English girls seeming somewhat overawed, the Germans built a substantial first half lead, despite playing " ... a zone defence throughout ..." and relying "mainly on one good guard and two very tall pivots." In the second half, the Southgate players rallied, realising that they were not quite such underdogs as they had imagined, but they still finished the game 21 points adrift. The second leg, at Pickett's Lock, was a very different affair. Apart from the total lack of interest from the local borough council (as opposed to the civic reception accorded to them in Munich) the staging of the game was, apparently of a much higher standard than in Germany, with four times as many spectators, a match programme, and a great atmosphere. Even match announcer Steve Pearl was described as "great" by Kerton. This time Southgate also put together a much improved performance, and their eleven point home victory, though not enough to take them through to the quarter final, at least showed that they could compete, despite the obstacles that the club faced.
Have you spotted any errors? Have we missed anything important? Do you know if anyone still holds the copyright to any of the photographs?
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