Crystal Palace (basketball)

Crystal Palace Basketball Club was a basketball club from the London borough of Crystal Palace in England, from a cooperation of a basketball team from the London Borough of Sutton with the football club Crystal Palace FC 1973 arose. The fusion club who put the dominant teams in the English Basketball in the 1970s and early 1980s, is considered one of the pioneers in the English Basketball, which provided also in European club competition for first attention. He was continued with varying success until 1998 that it was united with the then leading London club London Towers in the British Basketball League (BBL ).

History

Successful Start ( 1973-1978 )

The club from the district of Sutton had 1971 and 1973 reached the finals in the Cup competition National Cup and lost respectively. Then, it cooperated with the eponymous Crystal Palace Football Club and initially joined in under the Sutton & Crystal Palace, where they played at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre as a home ground. Built in 1964 Crystal Palace Centre was also from 1965 to 1974 hosted the finals in the National Cup, the actual championship in the English Basketball until 1979. During the first season of the cooperation is not only won the cup competition, but also the first place in the one years previously introduced Division One of the " National Basketball League " ( NBL ). In European club competition Korac Cup in 1973/74 but it was eliminated in the first qualifying round, where you could win the home match against Belgian club Bruges. Then, it occurred after the cup victory also one of the first English teams in the European Cup of Champions, but lost both games in the first qualifying round against the Dutch representatives from Rotterdam clearly. After in league and cup each was second in 1975 and the title could not defend, they won as Crystal Palace both competitions as a double three times in sequence from 1976 until 1978. A first moderate success at the international level was the second place in the group phase of the national champion European Cup at the start of the 1976/77 season when you could be in direct comparison to the Swiss champion Federale Lugano behind. But the dominant Spanish champions and former vice European champions Real Madrid managed to qualify as group winners for the quarter-final round. In the following two European Cup competitions of the national champion again but they remained winless.

Notable successes in the European Cup ( 1978-1983 )

In the 1978/79 season we had to leave the Doncaster Panthers in second each precedence in league and cup. However, this did not take part in the European Cup as Crystal Palace and was national champion in the competition 1979/80 line up again. In the season 1979/80 we undertook among other Americans Alton Byrd, who in his college career at Columbia University with his height of about 1.70 m the " Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award" for the best college player with a height of less than 1.83 m had received. Byrd, who was naturalized later and England international had not managed to join the American professional league NBA after a foot injury and played the following three seasons for Crystal Palace. In the group stage of the European Cup they met again at Real Madrid, the superior took the first place and later won his seventh European Cup title. Except for the two games against Real at the two star players Wayne Brabender and Walter Szczerbiak, however, they won the remaining four group games, including both games against the German champions TuS 04 Leverkusen. In national competitions were abolished in 1980 again the Double. 1981 could only defend the title in the National Cup and lost the championship in the league against the Birmingham Bullets. In the European Cup, it was enough to ever a home victory over the French master of Tours and the Greek champions Panathinaikos Athens. In the final statement of the group but this meant only the last place in the group of four, won by the later European champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the seasons 1981/82 and 1982/83 they won the championship again in the National League. In Europe Cup Winners' Cup 1981/82 they won, among others, against the Swiss representative BBC Nyon and entered the quarter-final group stage, but where in a group of four with the later title holder KK Cibona in six games managed only one victory. In the 1982/83 season then took back the Cup of Champions part that was played this time without the group stage in the first round. In the first round they beat the German champions BSC Saturn Köln in two games each with a point and was in the quarter-finals Real Madrid at home with eight points difference defeat for the first time. In the return leg in Madrid but they lost with 30 points difference ( 81:111 ), and thus missed the part in the final round for the title.

Decline until the resignation of the BBL (1983 to 1989)

In the season 1983/84 they took part instead of the national champion - European Cup on Korac Cup 1983/84. After the moderate success at European level in the previous year they stayed here, however, without a win in the group stage of the 16 best teams. In the National League, it was enough even for vice-championship in 1984 behind the Solent Stars. With Steve Bucknall made ​​it a player from Crystal Palace to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later in the NBA. The most successful periods of Crystal Palace BC, however, were passing just at the moment, as in 1987 with the British Basketball League (BBL ) was introduced in a closed professional league in the United Kingdom. Although it was a founding member of the BBL in the season 1987/88, but it was enough to just two wins this season in 28 games and the last place among 15 teams in the final table. In the already shrunken to four teams second season appears again only two victories in 20 games, which in turn meant the bottom of the table. Then also pulled one out of the BBL back while the league with the London Docklands recordings a new franchise from London, who would later include the name London Towers of the most successful teams of the 1990s in the BBL.

Short comeback until the merger with Towers (1989 to 1996)

After returning to Division One, which now is no longer the highest league, stabilized you look sporty and reached in 1993 a third place in the league. 1994 returned Alton Byrd, the 1991 and 1992 as so far the only players in a row won at the end of his playing career twice the award for " Most Valuable Player " ( MVP ) of the BBL back as manager and co-owner at Crystal Palace and was able to revive the club again. 1995 and 1996 again won the championship in this league. In the National Cup 1995/96 they beat two teams in the BBL and moved to the semifinals, where they lost to the defending champions Sheffield Sharks. This was also the time being successful season of the London Towers, who won all other competitions in the BBL to the Championship play-offs. Crystal Palace again sought successfully to join the BBL after, but finished second in the first season after returning in 1997 after five wins this season, only the second to last place in the table, while the Towers for the first time won the Play -offs the BBL. Byrd left the club and moved to the management of the NBA Sacramento Kings clubs later. 1998 occupied the Crystal Palace in the last season of their independence far behind from the play-off places the third- last place among 13 teams. They then merged the remnants of the association with the local rivals London Towers, now used in addition to the Wembley Arena and the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace as a home ground. The Towers wanted two years later to build on successful European Cup Times of Crystal Palace and took part in the competitions of the newly founded ULEB Euro League. In across 24 group matches in the first two sweeps of the ULEB Euro League but it was only enough for a victory in the ULEB Euro League 2000 /01 against the Opel Skyliners Frankfurt, who continued the apparently traditional weakness German teams against London clubs first. In the following ULEB Euro League 2001 /02 it was enough but then to two victories against the Skyliners now clearly inferior overall and winless Towers, four years later in 2006, even einstellten their gaming operations in the BBL.

Succession

While in the Sutton Pumas basketball team could play from 1999 for several years successfully in Division One until 2004, there were an amateur team from 2009, which continued in name, the tradition of the Crystal Palace BC. The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre was in season 2012/13, the venue of the home matches of BBL franchise London Lions, which are subsequently unsubscribe from Milton Keynes coming their home games at the Copper Box.