English National Cup (basketball)

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The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has featured the elite of English basketball, but teams from the British Basketball League currently do not compete in the National Cup, as they compete in their own separate competition, the BBL Cup.

Contents

The final is usually played midway through the season, at a neutral venue. The winners of the tournament are awarded the George Williams Trophy, which is named for the man who donated the original cup.

History

The competition was originally launched as the A.B.B.A. National Championship in 1936, and was the first attempt by the Amateur Basketball Ball Association (A.B.B.A.) to develop an annual national basketball championship in England and Wales. The National Championship was initially structured as an end-of-season event to allow regional champions to compete against their peers from across England and Wales. It was governed by the Amateur Basket Ball Association (A.B.B.A.), a forerunner of the current Basketball England organisation. During World War II, the competition was put on hiatus; the last pre-war winners, Birmingham Athletic Institute, retained the trophy for the duration of the hostilities. [1]

Following the introduction of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1972, the cup began a gradual decline in its influence on the English game as alternative national competitions became more established. The introduction of the NBL's own end-of-season playoffs in 1979 resulted in the competition being restructured into a season-long knockout tournament similar to football's FA Cup, with the competition renamed the National Cup to avoid confusion with the league championship. [2] This structure continued through the introduction of the independent, franchise-based British Basketball League in 1987, though the cup was eventually truncated to a 16-team event for 1998 onwards, with the clubs holding a BBL franchise being joined by the top teams from the previous year's NBL Division 1 standings. This change in format came at the same time as the BBC began showing live coverage of the semi-finals and final.

In 2003, the governance and competition structure of basketball in England underwent a period of reinvention, which included rebranding the NBL as the English Basketball League and introducing new rules governing the use of import players across all Basketball England competitions. These changes led to conflict with the British Basketball League, which withdrew the support of all top-flight clubs and started their own breakaway competition. [3] The withdrawal of the top-flight clubs led to the National Cup returning to a more open structure, with teams able to enter from all divisions of the NBL. This format largely remains to this day, with small variations in organisation during the early rounds.

Format

The current competition structure is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random – there are no seeds, with the draw for all the rounds up to and including the quarter-final taking place in May.

When there are an uneven number of clubs in the draw, some pre-selected teams will receive byes into the next round. In some seasons the number of entries has required a preliminary round.

Past Final Results

[4] [5]

SeasonWinnersRunners-upVenueResult
1935–36 Hoylake YMCALondon PolytechnicBirmingham32 – 21
1936–37 Hoylake YMCALatter Day SaintsLiverpool23 – 17
1937–38 Catford SaintsRochdale GreysWembley Arena61 – 47
1938–39 Catford SaintsRochdale GreysLondon Arena53 – 41
1939–40 Birmingham Athletic InstituteCentral YMCALondon Arena35 – 30
1941–1946No competition
1946–47 CarpathiansBirmingham DolobranBirmingham48 – 25
1947–48 Latter Day SaintsLatvian SocietyBarking39 – 30
1948–49 Latter Day SaintsBirmingham DolobranLeicester44 – 35
1949–50 Latter Day SaintsUSAF BurtonwoodNottingham43 – 32
1950–51 Birmingham DolobranLondon PolytechnicNottingham34 – 33
1951–52 London PolytechnicBirmingham DolobranWembley Arena40 – 29
1952–53 London PolytechnicBirmingham DolobranManchester55 – 46
1953–54 London PolytechnicNottingham YMCABirmingham98 – 53
1954–55 London PolytechnicBirmingham DolobranLondon Arena58 – 54
1955–56 Oxford University HoddesdonLondon Arena75 – 59
1956–57 Central YMCALondon PolytechnicLondon Arena63 – 51
1957–58 Central YMCAEast HamLondon Arena48 – 40
1958–59 Aspley OBBirmingham DolobranLeicester58 – 39
1959–60 Central YMCALondon PolytechnicBirmingham95 – 62
1960–61 London UniversityCentral YMCASouth Ruislip68 – 59
1961–62 Central YMCARAE EaglesSouth Ruislip87 – 47
1962–63 Central YMCALondon UniversityRoyal Albert Hall70 – 69
1963–64 Central YMCALondon UniversityRoyal Albert Hall78 – 56
1964–65 Aldershot Warriors Oxford University Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, South London 79 – 63
1965–66 Oxford University Aldershot Warriors91 – 70
1966–67 Central YMCAVauxhall Motors64 – 62
1967–68 Oxford University Aldershot Warriors61 – 59
1968–69 Central YMCAAldershot Warriors70 – 62
1969–70 Liverpool Police Oxford University 73 – 67
1970–71 Manchester UniversitySutton88 – 81
1971–72 AvenueCambridge78 – 66
1972–73 London Latvian SKSutton70 – 69
1973–74 Sutton & Crystal Palace Embassy All Stars120 – 100
1974–75 Embassy All Stars Sutton & Crystal Palace Empire Pool, West London 82 – 81
1975–76 Crystal Palace Embassy All Stars108 – 88
1976–77 Crystal Palace Embassy All Stars91 – 90
1977–78 Crystal Palace Team Fiat Coventry 89 – 87
1978–79 Doncaster Panthers Crystal Palace Concord Sports Centre, Sheffield73 – 71
1979–80 Crystal Palace Doncaster Panthers 97 – 67
1980–81 Crystal Palace Doncaster Panthers Coventry Sports Centre, Coventry 91 – 74
1981–82 Solent Stars Doncaster Panthers Granby Halls, Leicester 127 – 91
1982–83 Solent Stars Birmingham Bullets 98 – 97
1983–84 Solent Stars Leicester Riders Royal Albert Hall, London 86 – 67
1984–85 Kingston Kings Manchester United 103 – 98
1985–86 Kingston Kings Solent Stars 113 – 82
1986–87 Kingston Kings Portsmouth 95 – 87
1987–88 Kingston Kings Portsmouth 90 – 84
1988–89 Bracknell Tigers Manchester Eagles London Arena, East London 87 – 75
1989–90 Kingston Kings Sunderland Saints 103 – 78
1990–91 Sunderland Saints Leicester Riders 88 – 81
1991–92 Kingston Kings Thames Valley Tigers Sheffield Arena, Sheffield 90 – 71
1992–93 Guildford Kings Worthing Bears Doncaster Dome, Doncaster 82 – 72
1993–94 Worthing Bears Thames Valley Tigers Sheffield Arena, Sheffield 92 – 83
1994–95 Sheffield Sharks Thames Valley Tigers 89 – 66
1995–96 London Towers Sheffield Sharks 70 – 58
1996–97 London Leopards Sheffield Sharks 87 – 79
1997–98 Thames Valley Tigers Leicester Riders 82 – 78
1998–99 Sheffield Sharks London Leopards 67 – 65
1999–00 Sheffield Sharks Manchester Giants 89 – 80
2000–01 Leicester Riders London Leopards 84 – 80
2001–02 Chester Jets Birmingham Bullets 112 – 105
2002–03 Brighton Bears Chester Jets National Indoor Arena, Birmingham 89 – 79
2003–04 Plymouth Raiders Teesside Mohawks English Institute of Sport, Sheffield 89 – 82
2004–05 Reading Rockets City of Sheffield Arrows National Indoor Arena, Birmingham 76 – 75
2005–06 Essex & Herts Leopards Reading Rockets 79 – 75
2006–07 Manchester Magic Worthing Thunder 85 – 80
2007–08 Manchester Magic Worthing Thunder Moorways Centre, Derby 104 – 89
2008–09 Reading Rockets Manchester Magic English Institute of Sport, Sheffield 74 – 68
2009–10 Bristol Academy Flyers Manchester Magic 63 – 61 (OT)
2010–11 Brixton TopCats Bristol Academy Flyers Ponds Forge, Sheffield 77 – 63
2011–12 London Leopards Bristol Academy Flyers 64 – 63
2012–13 Leeds Carnegie Bristol Academy Flyers 66 – 64
2013–14 Reading Rockets Newham Neptunes Worcester Arena, Worcester 93 – 72
2014–15 Manchester Magic Reading Rockets English Institute of Sport, Sheffield 76 – 58
2015–16 Manchester Magic Worthing Thunder 97 – 84
2016–17 Team Northumbria Solent Kestrels Worcester Arena, Worcester 73 – 56
2017–18 Hemel Storm Manchester Magic SportsDock, East London 94 – 77
2018–19 Loughborough Riders Solent Kestrels Essex Sport Arena, Colchester 82 – 63
2019–20 Solent Kestrels Reading Rockets 90 – 67
2020–21 No competition
2021–22 Solent Kestrels Team Newcastle National Basketball Centre, Manchester 109 – 66
2022–23 Hemel Storm Derby Trailblazers 102 – 81
2023–24 Milton Keynes Breakers Reading Rockets 95 – 85
2024–25 Reading Rockets Hemel Storm 108 – 93

References

  1. "History of the Game". Exeter District Basketball. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. "Men's Competition History". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  3. "James slams National Cup wreckers". getreading.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  4. "Men's National Competition Winners". England Basketball. Archived from the original on June 18, 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  5. "Basketball England Statistics". Basketball England. Retrieved 9 February 2019.