The 1978–79 Rotary Watches National Basketball League season was the seventh season of the National Basketball League.[1]
The league was sponsored by Rotary Watches and the number of teams participating increased to eleven.
Doncaster completed the league and National Cup double, but Crystal Palace won the newly introduced Playoffs.[2]
Team changes
Leicester switched back to Loughborough and Bedford dropped out of the league. Bracknell and Sunderland joined; the latter playing at the Crowtree Leisure Centre in the centre of Sunderland.
National League
First Division
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doncaster Ziebart Panthers | 20 | 17 | 3 | 1831 | 1588 | 34 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace Chevrons | 20 | 16 | 4 | 1895 | 1628 | 32 |
| 3 | London 'Slick Willies Y' Metros | 20 | 15 | 5 | 1938 | 1752 | 30 |
| 4 | Coventry Team Fiat | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1851 | 1602 | 26 |
| 5 | Milton Keynes All-Stars * | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1866 | 1671 | 24 |
| 6 | Swithland Motors Loughborough All-Stars | 20 | 10 | 10 | 1778 | 1902 | 20 |
| 7 | Sunderland Sunblest | 20 | 7 | 12 | 1903 | 1938 | 15 |
| 8 | Manchester ATS Giants | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1847 | 1945 | 14 |
| 9 | Stockport Belgrade | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1663 | 1756 | 14 |
| 10 | Bracknell Bullets | 20 | 3 | 16 | 1611 | 2001 | 6 |
| 11 | Exeter St Lukes TSB | 20 | 1 | 19 | 1654 | 2054 | 2 |
deducted two points *
Second Division
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guildford Pirates | 18 | 15 | 3 | 1620 | 1426 | 30 |
| 2 | Hemel Hempstead Lakers | 18 | 15 | 3 | 1688 | 1427 | 30 |
| 3 | Leeds Larsen Lions | 18 | 13 | 5 | 1728 | 1453 | 26 |
| 4 | Telefusion Blackpool | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1513 | 1467 | 24 |
| 5 | Nottingham | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1783 | 1607 | 24 |
| 6 | Brighton Rucanor | 18 | 10 | 8 | 1648 | 1576 | 20 |
| 7 | Bromley | 18 | 6 | 12 | 1638 | 1743 | 12 |
| 8 | Maidenhead Sonics | 18 | 4 | 14 | 1354 | 1588 | 7* |
| 9 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 18 | 2 | 16 | 1426 | 1724 | 3* |
| 10 | Derby CFE | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1423 | 1810 | 2 |
Rotary Watches playoffs
Semi-finals
| venue & date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 16, Wembley Arena | Doncaster Ziebart Panthers | Coventry Team Fiat | 72-75 |
| March 16, Wembley Arena | Crystal Palace Chevrons | London 'Slick Willies Y' Metros | 100-78 |
Third Place
| venue & date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 17, Wembley Arena | Doncaster Ziebart Panthers | London 'Slick Willies Y' Metros | 98-85 |
Final
Butlins National Cup Final
26 January 1979
|
| Doncaster Ziebart Panthers | 73–71 | Crystal Palace Chevrons |
| Pts: Bryan Dunn 22, Cliff Bell 21, Dan Lloyd 15, John Belk 9, Ian Day 7, Ian Redford 2 (winning basket) | Pts: Kenny Walton 16 |
Concord Sports Centre, Sheffield
Attendance: 1,600 |
References
- ^ Matthews & Morrison, Peter & Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records & Results. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
- ^ "Men's Senior League Winners". Basketball England.[permanent dead link]