Plymouth Raiders
| Plymouth Raiders | |||
| Founded | 1983 | ||
| Hall | Plymouth Pavilions (1,480 seats) |
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| Homepage | http://www.plymouthraiders.com/ | ||
| Trainer | Gavin Love | ||
| league |
British Basketball League 2012/13: 6th place |
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| Colours | Green white | ||
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| successes | |||
| BBL Trophy 2007; NBL play-offs 1997, 1999, 2001; NBL Regular Season 2000/01, EBL 2003/04; National Cup 2004 |
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The Plymouth Raiders (officially: UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders ) are a professional basketball team from Plymouth , England . The team has been playing under the name Raiders since 1983, after previously existing teams in Plymouth with Plymouth Panasonic and the Plymouth Canaries . After the team initially played in the "National Basketball League" (NBL) and its successor "English Basketball League" (EBL), it joined the closed professional league British Basketball League (BBL) in 2004 . There her greatest success in 2007 was winning the league cup BBL Trophy. The official name of the Raiders results from the support of the University College Plymouth St Mark & St John , which is abbreviated as UCP Marjon.
history
Started at the Mayflower Center (1983 to 1996)
In the 1979/80 season a team took part under the name Plymouth Panasonic in the league operation of the NBL. They reached seventh and penultimate place among eight teams in the second division of the NBL after only three victories this season. After not raising enough financial means for further national league operations, one then entered regional competitions again under the name Plymouth Canaries. Three years later they found enough support to return to the second division as the Plymouth Raiders and played their home games at the Mayflower Center. There they placed themselves in the lower third of the table in the following four seasons.
For the season 1987/88 the closed professional league BBL was introduced and the second division of the NBL was upgraded to the first division. After a new sponsorship deal, they had enough financial means to put together a strong team and won two thirds of the season's games, so that for the first time they had a positive result of the season in fourth place. This was enough to qualify for the play-offs of "Division One", in which they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the following season they reached a sixth place and were eliminated again in the quarterfinals. In the following seasons they slipped back to final placements in the lower third of the table except for the 1991/92 season, in which they advanced to the semi-finals of the play-offs for the first time after sixth place in the regular season. In the 1993/94 season you reached the final of the National Trophy, which was lost with two points difference against the Sheffield Sharks .
NBL in the Pavilions Arena (1996 to 2004)
In 1996 the Raiders moved from the Mayflower Center to the Pavilions Arena, and now they have achieved success, especially since the new home arena has attracted more spectators. In the championship of the NBL Division One they reached second place and the final in the National Trophy, which was also reached in the following two seasons. In the play-offs of the 1996/97 season you reached the final for the first time, which you won against the Ware Rebels and achieved the first title win for the club. In the following season, however, they lost the final game against the main round first Richmond Jaguars, against which the final of the National Trophy was lost as the defending champion. In 1999 they reached the final for the third time in a row and won it against the Teesside Mohawks from Middlesbrough , against whom they had lost the final of the National Trophy by just one point.
In the following season 1999/2000 the Raiders could not hold the level and were eliminated as fourth in the first round of the play-offs. Then the NBL was divided into conferences and the Raiders reached first place in the Conference South with only two defeats with the best record of all teams in NBL Division One. In the final of the play-offs, as in 1997 in the first play-off final of the Raiders, the Ware Rebels were again beaten, who now played as Worthing Thunder in West Sussex . In the following two seasons they had behind the Teesside Mohawks the second best season record of all teams in Division One, but were eliminated before reaching the play-off final game. With the 2003/04 season, the English Basketball League was introduced, which replaced the NBL. The National Cup was now played without the participation of the BBL clubs and the Raiders won the final against the Mohawks. Also in the league they finished first place after the end of the regular season, but in the play-offs they lost the final against defending champion Mohawks, who won the title for the third time in a row.
Raiders in the BBL (since 2004)
In 2004 the Raiders were accepted into the closed professional league BBL as the first team after six years. In their inaugural season they ended up ninth and third from bottom of the table and missed a play-off participation. Also in the following season they missed the play-offs participation, this time, just one win from eighth place, they were tenth and penultimate. The play-off final round was then reached fifth in the 2006/07 season. Previously, in the original league cup, the BBL Trophy, which has also been played with the participation of the best EBL teams since the EBL was introduced, won the first title since inclusion in the BBL when they beat the champions Newcastle Eagles in the final, who had previously won the trophy had won twice. In the play-offs of the BBL, however, they lost in the first round against the Scottish Rocks .
In the 2007/08 BBL season they reached third place after the regular season and could also move into the semi-finals in the play-offs, which was lost to the Guildford Heat , which later also won the title. In the small final for third place, they managed to end the season successfully with a win against defending champion Newcastle Eagles in third place. In 2008 the BBL Cup made it into the final for the first time in this competition, in which the Everton Tigers "dismantled" 49: 103. In the league they finished fifth, but they won in the first play-off round against defending champions Guildford Heat, but lost in the semi-finals to eventual title winners Newcastle Eagles. In the following season 2009/10, however, the budget had to be reduced due to the failure of sponsors and ended the season for the first time since 2005 with a negative season balance, which meant that tenth place in the final table could not qualify for the final round.
In the 2010/11 season, the former player Gavin Love took over the coaching office and was able to sign the German-American Cody Töpper , who had previously played in the German basketball league but then only played ten games for the Raiders. They managed the immediate " turnaround " anyway and as fifth they were represented in the play-offs again, which ended early with a first-round defeat. In the following season 2011/12 they were fourth at the end of the season with nine defeats, only two defeats worse than the first Newcastle Eagles. They were also able to win the final games in the BBL Cup and in the BBL Trophy against the Raiders. The play-offs ended disappointingly in the first round for the Raiders when they were eliminated immediately after a defeat with 20 points difference in the second leg against Glasgow Rocks. Sixth in the 2012/13 season they missed a good starting position for the play-offs, but in the first round they could retaliate against Glasgow Rocks for the bitter disappointment of the previous season and won the first and second leg. In the semifinals they lost both games against the eventual title winner Leicester Riders .
Web links
- Club History - self-presentation of the club's history on the websites of Plymouth Raiders ( English )
- Marjon Plymouth Raiders - British Basketball League BBL - Profile on the BBL website
- Competition History - British Basketball League BBL - Overview of the season on the BBL website
- UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders basketball - team details, stats, news, roster - Club profile on the websites of Eurobasket.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ England Basketball: Senior Men - Cup Competitions - National Trophy. (No longer available online.) England Basketball . Archived from the original on April 2, 2013 ; accessed on June 6, 2013 (English, overview of final results). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ England Basketball: Senior Men - League. (No longer available online.) England Basketball . Archived from the original on April 2, 2013 ; accessed on June 6, 2013 (English, season overview). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ England Basketball: Senior Men - Playoff. (No longer available online.) England Basketball . Archived from the original on August 13, 2013 ; accessed on June 6, 2013 (English, overview of final results). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
