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46-729: The British Basketball League Trophy , often shortened to the BBL Trophy , is an annual cup competition for the British Basketball League (BBL). It is the unique of peripheral competitions operated by the League during the regular season, The competition's structure and format vary from season to season and, unlike the BBL Cup, often includes invited clubs from the English Basketball League and

92-515: A round-robin group stage format used for the first round; however, the current competition is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random – there are no seeds , and a draw takes place after the majority of fixtures have been played in each round. As well as including all BBL member clubs, invited teams from the English Basketball League , and occasionally the Scottish Basketball League , often take part in

138-590: A 74–65 victory in the Final, in front of a crowd of over 5,000 people. Guildford Heat won the 2008 Trophy Final at Plymouth's Pavilions arena as Newcastle again finished as Runners-up, but in an identical match-up in the 2009 Final, Eagles beat Guildford 83–71 at their own home venue, the Spectrum . This season also saw the return of the two-game series for the Semi-finals stage whilst the 2009–10 edition saw

184-592: A Quarter-final stage which also used the two-game aggregate scoring system. Bracknell Tigers stamped their dominance in the opening rounds, topping the Southern group before defeating Trophy holders Livingston 89–81 in the Final. From the 1989–90 season the Trophy continued with a North and South group format for the opening round, although due to a lack of members in the League the Quarter-finals were axed and

230-464: A boxer is knocked down and is unable to continue the fight within a ten-second count, they are counted as having been knocked out and their opponent is awarded the KO victory. In mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions, no time count is given after a knockdown, as the sport allows submission grappling as well as ground and pound . If a fighter loses consciousness ("goes limp") as a result of legal strikes, it

276-652: A match-up with London Towers , whilst Manchester (winners of the North) were pitted against Leicester City Riders (winners of the Midlands area) in the other Semi-final. Kingston claimed their third Trophy win in three seasons with a 71–68 victory over Leicester at the National Exhibition Centre as the Final returned to a Birmingham venue after its two-year stint in London. The group stage returned to

322-505: A naming rights agreement with clothing brand Franklin & Marshall for the 2010–11 season . The Franklin & Marshall Trophy Final was held at the O2 Arena in London as part of the NBA 's "Basketball Week" and saw Mersey Tigers pick-up their first Trophy with an 84–66 victory over Guildford. For the 2011–12 season , the competition had received another major change to its format with

368-586: A number of years, linking with their community and development work, in 2006 the London Towers first team pulled out of BBL , for a "one year break". In common with at least two other teams who followed this path at around the same time, they were never to return. The recently started second team, London Towers II, continued to fly the flag for a few seasons, competing in the English Basketball League Division 3 and operating

414-662: A professional basketball team based in London , England . They enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and early 2000s, collecting 3 titles in the British Basketball League (BBL) as well as regularly competing in European competitions such as the Euroleague and EuroCup . They contested a fierce rivalry with fellow London team Greater London Leopards for much of this spell. After several years of decline with financial difficulties and venue issues, owner Costi Zombanakis pulled

460-467: Is also used if the fighter is hanging on to the ropes, caught between the ropes, or is hanging over the ropes and is unable to fall to the floor and cannot protect himself. A knockdown triggers a count by the referee (normally to 10); if the fighter fails the count, then the fight is ended as a KO. A flash knockdown is a knockdown in which the fighter hits the canvas but is not noticeably hurt or affected. London Towers London Towers were

506-426: Is declared a KO. Even if the fighter loses consciousness for a brief moment and wakes up again to continue to fight, the fight is stopped and a KO is declared. As many MMA fights can take place on the mat rather than standing, it is possible to score a KO via ground and pound, a common victory for grapplers . In fighting games such as Street Fighter and Tekken , a player scores a knockout by fully depleting

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552-417: Is knocked down four times in an entire match. In MMA bouts, the referee may declare a TKO if a fighter cannot intelligently defend themselves while being repeatedly struck. A double knockout (DKO ), both in real-life combat sports and in fighting -based video games , occurs when both fighters trade blows and knock each other out simultaneously and are both unable to continue fighting. In such cases,

598-560: The Carlsberg League Division 1 was suffering a membership crisis at the time and was about to be reduced to just seven teams. With the newly built Docklands Arena available as a possible venue not too far from the team's base, the Tower Hamlets franchise was admitted to country's top professional league as London's representatives, rebranded as London Docklands for the 1989-90 season . The following season

644-708: The English National Basketball League and the National League of Scotland, and was first won by Scottish team Livingston in 1985. The competition was renamed as the British Masters Cup for the following season and though the initial group stage was played early in the regular season, the knock-out stages were now played during the post-season, almost simultaneously with the Play-offs. Birmingham Bullets emerged as

690-546: The NatWest Trophy , featured only the 15 member teams of Carlsberg League , including new Scottish entrant and former Anglo-Scottish Cup winner, Livingston. The first round of the new tournament divided the 15 teams into regional groups, with each group winner progressing to the Semi-final stage. Calderdale Explorers and Livingston progressed from the two Northern groups, whilst Kingston and Portsmouth advanced in

736-616: The Scottish Basketball League , and representatives from Basketball Wales , a novelty in BBL events which gives the competition much of its character. The most recent champions are the Cheshire Phoenix who defeated London Lions at Arena Birmingham . The BBL Trophy can trace its origins back to a previous competition known as the Anglo-Scottish Cup which was founded in 1984. The Anglo-Scottish Cup featured teams from

782-453: The BBL merged the North and South Conferences in its regular season back to one Championship. The regionalised groups remained unchanged until 2007. For the 2006–07 season special invitees from the English Basketball League entered into the competition. These teams were Coventry Crusaders , London Leopards , Reading Rockets and Worthing Thunder . For the first time the BBL also welcomed

828-550: The Budweiser League Championship, League Playoffs and 7-up trophy. The 1996-97 season also saw the Towers make their European debut appearance, competing in the newly named EuroCup. After qualifying from the group stage with a 4–6 record, they exited the competition in the first knockout round losing to Avtodor Saratov of Russia by five points over two legs. The following season also saw them take part in

874-554: The Cheshire-based team went on to claim three more Trophy crowns in the following three seasons. During this period, the competition had now become the BBL Trophy after its sponsorship contract for the naming rights was not renewed with uni-ball, whilst the venue for the Final had moved to Sheffield and the Hallam FM Arena . The competition had reverted its First round format back to regionalised groups from 2002, as

920-586: The Docklands team left the giant arena as they, in common with other basketball teams at the time, struggled with the cost of a big arena rent. They returned "home" to Tower Hamlets and the Newham Leisure Centre, although their first two seasons yielded just three League victories. It was 1991 when the franchise which came to sit astride British basketball finally gained its most well-known label. Renamed London Towers , but still playing at Newham

966-464: The Eurocup, however this time they finished bottom of their group with a 1–9 record. With their Wembley venue proving expensive and presenting problems for European competitions, in the summer of 1998 Towers "merged" with fellow BBL team Crystal Palace . The 1998–1999 season saw games split between Wembley and Crystal Palace National Sports Centre , with the team moving full time to Crystal Palace for

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1012-565: The North. The first Final was played at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre , where Livingston continued their success from the British Masters Cup by beating Portsmouth 96–91 to become the first and so far only Scottish winners. Due to a decline in members for the second edition, an even 12 teams were divided into two regionalised groups for the first round with the top four teams (from six) advancing through to

1058-451: The Southern groups. In the Semi-finals the two Northern area teams competed against each other, as did the two Southern teams, to ensure the Final would feature a North versus South match-up. The Semi-finals were played as a two-game series, with the winner decided by the biggest aggregate score . Portsmouth advanced in the Southern encounter with Kingston, winning 168–167 on aggregate, whilst Livingston beat Calderdale 158–142 on aggregate from

1104-599: The Trophy Final organised as a two-game series and the winner decided by an aggregate scoring system, making it the first time that the Final was not played as a single-game event. Newcastle and Plymouth competed for the Trophy over two games, with Plymouth winning their home fixture 97–88, but Newcastle's 96–80 victory at their Sport Central venue meant that the Eagles had won with an aggregate score of 184–177. By winning their fifth BBL Trophy, Newcastle Eagles are currently

1150-468: The Trophy. The Final is usually played in March at a neutral venue. Throughout its history the competition has been sponsored by several businesses, which have resulted in the trophy being renamed in accordance with the sponsor's branding. Knock-out The term is often associated with a sudden traumatic loss of consciousness caused by a physical blow. Single powerful blows to the head (particularly

1196-628: The abolition of the two-game series as the Semi-finals also reverted to a single match event. After eight seasons, the venue for the Trophy Final was moved across town from its usual home at the National Exhibition Centre to the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham's city centre. Chester Jets ' 92–81 win over Newcastle Eagles in the 2001 Final saw a third dynastic era of dominance in the Trophy's history as

1242-618: The club's fortunes turned around in the 1991-92 season , as they finished fourth, and a move to the Sobell Sports Centre in Islington saw them finish third in 1993. In 1994 the Towers made the short move across North London to the prestigious Wembley Arena complex, splitting home games between the Arena itself and the adjacent Exhibition halls. It was here that they enjoyed their best seasons, winning multiple titles including

1288-511: The competition that was now known as the 7 Up Trophy through sponsorship from the 7 Up beverage brand. The first round reverted to a single North and a single South group format whilst there was also the return of the Quarter-finals round which was still played as a two-game series. Due to the uneven number of teams competing in the group stage, several teams received byes into the Quarter-final stage. This format remained consistent for

1334-617: The competition's second winners, and the first from England, whilst emerging powerhouse Kingston won the 1987 edition. Following the launch of the new British Basketball League administration in 1987 – taking over control of the National Basketball League from the English Basketball Association – the British Masters Cup was scrapped and replaced with the newly formed League Trophy. The new competition, sponsored by NatWest and christened as

1380-516: The face and the chin tucked in. This may still be ineffective if the opponent punches effectively to the solar plexus . A fighter who becomes unconscious from a strike with sufficient knockout power is referred to as having been knocked out or KO'd ( kay-ohd ). Losing balance without losing consciousness is referred to as being knocked down ("down but not out"). Repeated blows to the head, regardless of whether they cause loss of consciousness, may in severe cases cause strokes or paralysis in

1426-628: The first ever non-BBL team to progress past the 1st Round of the competition after an 84–64 win at home to Mersey Tigers on 6 January 2013. Sheffield Sharks claimed their second Trophy title with a 2-point win over Leicester in the Final at Glasgow's Emirates Arena . Glasgow's Emirates Arena hosted a second successive final in 2014, but Glasgow Rocks who were appearing in their first Trophy Final were not able to use their home court to their advantage as Worcester Wolves ' convincing 83–76 victory in front of 5,000 people earned them their first ever BBL silverware. The Trophy competition has historically had

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1472-417: The first team from the BBL in the summer of 2006, and although the club's second team continued in the regional English Basketball League , the London Towers brand folded in 2009. Established as Tower Hamlets , in the borough of the same name , the London -based team entered NBL Division 2 in 1984. By 1989 they finished eleventh, out of the eleven teams in the league and were due to be relegated. However,

1518-627: The first time the Trophy's first round group stage was not based on geographical region and instead were drawn at random whilst the Quarter-final stage became a single-game round. The 1999–2000 season saw 16 teams participate in the first round making it the largest edition of the Trophy competition to date. All 13 BBL teams entered the First round along with three invitees from the National Basketball League – Plymouth Raiders , Solent Stars and Sutton Pumas . This edition also saw

1564-668: The following season. Towers continued to be one of the British Basketball League's top teams, winning Southern Conference titles and the Uniball Trophy. They also regularly competed in European competitions such as the Saporta Cup, NEBL (Northern European Basketball League), and even the prestigious Euroleague for two seasons, coached by NBA Championship winning coach Nick Nurse in one of these years. Despite working on plans to build their own arena for

1610-425: The immediacy, and over time have been linked to permanent neurodegenerative diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy ("punch-drunk syndrome"). Because of this, many physicians advise against sports involving knockouts. A knockdown occurs when a fighter touches the floor of the ring with any part of the body other than the feet following a hit, but is able to rise back up and continue fighting. The term

1656-513: The jawline and temple) can produce a cerebral concussion or a carotid sinus reflex with syncope and cause a sudden, dramatic KO. Body blows, particularly the liver punch , can cause progressive, debilitating pain that can also result in a KO. In boxing and kickboxing, a knockout is usually awarded when one participant falls to the canvas and is unable to rise to their feet within a specified period of time, typically because of exhaustion, pain, disorientation, or unconsciousness . For example, if

1702-432: The match is declared a draw. Little is known as to what exactly causes one to be knocked unconscious, but many agree it is related to trauma to the brain stem . This usually happens when the head rotates sharply, often as a result of a strike. There are three general manifestations of such trauma: A basic principle of boxing and other combat sports is to defend against this vulnerability by keeping both hands raised about

1748-475: The most successful club in the competition, overshadowing Chester Jets' total of four Trophy's, won from 2001 to 2004. The 2012–13 season saw the competition operate as a straight knock-out contest as it did for the 2009–10 season. Four invitees – Edinburgh Kings, Essex Leopards , Reading Rockets and Worthing Thunder – were brought in from the EBL to bring the number of entrants to 16. Thunder made history and became

1794-507: The next three seasons, in a period that saw Southern domination in the Trophy from the London Towers franchise as they reach three consecutive Finals, winning in 1996 and 1997 and finishing as Runners-up in 1998. A change in sponsorship saw the competition rebranded as the uni-ball Trophy in 1997 after a naming rights agreement was made with the Mitsubishi Pencil Company . Further changes were introduced in 1998, as for

1840-539: The official attending physician at ringside to stop the fight as well. In amateur boxing, and in many regions professionally, including championship fights sanctioned by the World Boxing Association (WBA), a TKO is declared when a fighter is knocked down three times in one round (called an "automatic knockout" in WBA rules). Furthermore, in amateur boxing, a boxer automatically wins by TKO if his opponent

1886-433: The opponent's health bar , with the victor being awarded the round. The player who wins the most rounds, either by scoring the most knockouts or by having more vitality remaining when time expires during each round, wins the match. This differs from combat sports in reality, where a knockout ends the match immediately. However, some fighting games aim for a more realistic experience, with titles like Fight Night adhering to

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1932-600: The original format of two Northern and two Southern groups from 1992 due to an increase in teams competing in the Carlsberg League . Thames Valley Tigers ' 91–84 victory in the 1993 Final against Guildford Kings (who were the former Kingston team in new guise) brought an end to the successful Kingston dynasty and started a new period of dominance as the Tigers went on to win two more Trophy finals in succession. The 1995–96 season brought about another format changed to

1978-578: The removal of the group stage for the First round in favour of a straight knock-out tournament with 16 teams entered, including London Leopards , Manchester Magic and Reading Rockets from the English Basketball League. The Trophy Final was again played at the Spectrum for the 2010 Final where Newcastle were again victorious over the Cheshire Jets. For the first time since 2001, the Trophy received corporate sponsorship through

2024-409: The rules of professional boxing, although technically they are classified as sports games , and share many of the same features as NFL and NBA video games. A technical knockout ( TKO or T.K.O. ), stoppage , or referee stopped contest (RSC) is declared when the referee decides during a round that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason. Certain sanctioning bodies also allow

2070-486: The top two teams advanced to the two-game Semi-final series. The Final had switched venues to the larger Royal Albert Hall in London, and both the 1990 and 1991 editions saw Kingston defeat the Manchester Giants two years in a row. The 1991–92 season saw a third group introduced and 10 teams divided into Northern, Midlands and Southern regions as the holders Kingston received a bye to the Semi-final stage and

2116-541: The top two teams from the Scottish Basketball League , Troon Tornadoes and Edinburgh Kings into the competition which brought the total number of entrants to 16. Having won all four BBL competitions during the 2005–06 campaign , Newcastle Eagles were widely tipped to win the Trophy again in 2007, especially as their home venue – the Metro Radio Arena – was hosting the Final. However it was underdogs Plymouth Raiders who took home their first BBL silverware with

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