27/06/07 With the British Basketball League (BBL) expanding to thirteen teams ahead of the 2007/08 season, BBL competitions will be subject to certain format changes to accommodate the new clubs. In the forthcoming BBL Championship competition, clubs will play each other on three occasions throughout the season, resulting in a thirty-six game campaign for each team. They will meet each of their counterparts once at home, once away, and once home or away in a thirteen-team league structure. The BBL Championship shall be won by the team that finishes top of the league; in the event of a tie, head-to-head records shall be taken into account. The format for the post-season BBL Championship Playoffs remains the same, as the top eight teams qualify, with the top four sides gaining home court advantage in the quarter-finals. Games are decided on a one-off knockout format. The semi-finals and final will take place at the prestigious Basketball Finals Weekend which concludes the 2007/08 season. The BBL Cup retains the same format as in previous years, the only difference is to allow for the entry of the Birmingham Panthers, Everton Tigers, and PAWS London Capital for 2007/08. The BBL Cup remains a knockout competition with teams drawn randomly against one another and competing in one-off, all-or-nothing, games. The top three teams from last season's BBL Championship (Poujoulat Heat Guildford, Sheffield Sharks, Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles) shall receive a bye to the quarter-finals, the remaining teams enter the draw for the first-round. The BBL Trophy has received incremental changes ahead of the 2007/08 season to provide for a more exciting competition. The thirteen BBL clubs shall be split into four groups as follows:
Within these groups the sides shall meet one another home and away. The team
that finishes top of each group after their group stage matches will progress to
the BBL Trophy semi-finals, which assume a one-off knockout format to decide who
will meet in the BBL Trophy Final.
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