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Cheshire Phoenix

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Cheshire Phoenix
Cheshire Phoenix logo
LeagueSLB
Established1984; 40 years ago (1984)
HistoryEllesmere Port Jets
(1984–1988)
Chester Jets
(1988–2007)
Cheshire Jets
(2007–2012)
Cheshire Phoenix
(2012–present)
ArenaCheshire Oaks Arena
Capacity1,400
LocationEllesmere Port, Cheshire
Head coachBen Thomas
Championships2 BBL Championship
1 BBL Playoffs
2 BBL Cup
6 BBL Trophy
WebsiteCheshirePhoenix.com

The Cheshire Phoenix are an English professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Founded in 1984, they are members of the Super League Basketball and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the team was based in Chester, where they enjoyed their most success. Under previous ownership, the team was known as Cheshire Jets, but due to financial difficulties the franchise was withdrawn from the League in November 2012 and reformed as the Phoenix. The team's head coach is Ben Thomas.

The Phoenix have won two BBL championships, one BBL playoffs, two BBL Cups, and six BBL Trophies. Home games of the Phoenix are played in the Cheshire Oaks Arena, which holds capacity for a maximum of 1,400 people.

Franchise history

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Origin

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The team was first formed from the ruins of the Ellesmere Port team, the St Saviour's in 1984. The team was initially named after their sponsors 'Motocraft Centre Ellesmere Port'. However, after the loss of their sponsor, they renamed themselves Ellesmere Port Jets.

The Jets were admitted to NBL Division 2 in 1986 and finished last in their first season, with just a single victory. Edging up to seventh in 1987–88, they then changed their name to Cheshire Jets, though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port. They continued a steady mid-table development until, in 1991, they won the divisional title despite suffering five defeats. The same year, the Jets moved up into the BBL joining in with Britain's elite basketball teams. Later however, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to the Chester Jets.

The real turning point for the Jets came in 1996, when the application of the Bosman ruling to basketball resulted in the departure of many of the top English players to European clubs, and the BBL changed its eligibility rule to entitle teams to use five non-national players.

Trans-Atlantic recruitment by coach and co-owner Mike Burton resulted in a team which finished fifth in the League table in 1997. Subsequent seasons have seen their best-ever performances in 2002 (Northern Conference Champions) and 2003 (3rd in the re-unified League), and a string of successes in the BBL trophy (4-times winners, from 2001 to 2004), culminating in the League Championship in 2005.

On 7 April 2007, prior to the Jets' season finale at home to Guildford Heat, an 81–102 defeat, club owner and head coach Mike Burton announced that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the 2006–07 season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, raised serious doubts of the clubs' future,[1] with mounting debts and lack of financial backing. Shortly after the announcement, fans formed a committee to help save the club and received the backing of players including former Jet James Hamilton.[2] Following a sponsorship deal agreed during the summer of 2007 with local firm BiG Storage to save the club and preserve their future, the Jets was renamed as the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets to cover the wider demographic of Cheshire county in line with BiG Storage's market coverage. When BiG Storage terminated the sponsorship, the managing director of the company arranged a successor sponsor; Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The club was plunged into chaos in November 2012 when, after only 7 games into the season, the British Basketball League withdrew the club's franchise from owner Haydn Cook after he notified them that he was going to cancel the players contracts and cancelled all future fixtures.

A statement from the BBL said: "The BBL have withdrawn the Cheshire franchise from its operating company with immediate effect.

"The decision follows an urgent review of the franchise following notification from the club that they were unable to fulfil their fixture this weekend. The BBL is currently exploring a number of options to ensure the continuation of the franchise. It is anticipated there will be a further announcement in the coming days." (Cheshire Chronicle)[permanent dead link‍]

The club had until the end of November to find £50,000 to preserve its status in top-flight basketball. Local businesses were found to donate money and become sponsors, thus saving the club and fulfilling its fixture list as planned.

On 28 January 2024, the Phoenix won their sixth BBL Trophy following an upset win over the favored London Lions in the final.[3]

Home arenas

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Ellesmere Port Leisure Centre (1984–1993)
Northgate Arena (1993–2015)
Cheshire Oaks Arena (2015–present)

Logos

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  • 2012–2020
    2012–2020
  • 2020–present
    2020–present

Season-by-season records

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Seasons 1986-2012
Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season Trophy Cup Head Coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
Ellesmere Port Jets
1986–87 NBL2 2 10th 18 1 17 2 0.056 Did not qualify 1st round (NC)
1987–88 NBL1 2 7th 18 7 11 14 0.389 Did not qualify 2nd round (NC)
Cheshire Jets
1988–89 NBL1 2 8th 20 6 14 12 0.300 Did not qualify 2nd round (NC)
1989–90 NBL1 2 6th 22 10 12 20 0.455 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
1990–91 NBL1 2 1st 22 17 5 34 0.773 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
1991–92 BBL 1 11th 30 2 28 4 0.067 Did not qualify 1st round (BT) 3rd round (NC) Mike Burton
1992–93 BBL 1 10th 33 10 23 20 0.303 Did not qualify 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
Chester Jets
1993–94 BBL 1 11th 36 11 25 22 0.306 Did not qualify 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
1994–95 BBL 1 12th 36 6 30 12 0.167 Did not qualify 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
1995–96 BBL 1 12th 36 8 28 16 0.222 Did not qualify Quarter-finals (BT) 4th round (NC) Mike Burton
1996–97 BBL 1 5th 36 24 12 48 0.667 Semi-finals Runners-Up (BT) 4th round (NC) Mike Burton
1997–98 BBL 1 10th 36 15 21 30 0.417 Did not qualify 1st round (BT) 4th round (NC) Mike Burton
1998–99 BBL 1 11th 36 10 26 20 0.278 Did not qualify Quarter-finals (BT) Quarter-finals (NC) Mike Burton
1999–00 BBL N 1 4th 36 17 19 34 0.472 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals (BT) 1st round (NC) Robbie Peers
2000–01 BBL N 1 2nd 36 25 11 50 0.694 Quarter-finals Winners, beating Newcastle, 92–81 1st round (NC) Robbie Peers
2001–02 BBL N 1 1st 32 24 8 48 0.750 Winners, beating Sheffield, 93–82 Winners, beating MK, 90–89 Winners, beating Birmingham, 112–105 Robbie Peers
2002–03 BBL 1 3rd 40 28 12 56 0.700 Quarter-finals Winners, beating London, 84–82 Runners-Up (NC) Robbie Peers
2003–04 BBL 1 5th 36 22 14 44 0.611 Runners-Up Winners, beating Brighton, 68–66 1st round (NC) Paul Smith
2004–05 BBL 1 1st 40 32 8 64 0.800 Runners-Up Semi-finals (BT) Semi-finals (BC) Paul Smith
2005–06 BBL 1 7th 40 17 23 34 0.425 Quarter-finals 1st round (BT) Semi-finals (BC) Billy Singleton
2006–07 BBL 1 9th 36 10 26 20 0.278 Did not qualify Quarter-finals (BT) 1st round (BC) Billy Singleton
Cheshire Jets
2007–08 BBL 1 11th 33 9 24 18 0.273 Did not qualify Semi-finals (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) TJ Walker
Paul Smith
2008–09 BBL 1 8th 33 15 18 30 0.455 Quarter-finals 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Paul Smith
2009–10 BBL 1 4th 36 22 14 44 0.611 Quarter-finals Runners-Up (BT) Runners-Up (BC) Paul Smith
2010–11 BBL 1 4th 33 20 13 40 0.606 Semi-finals 1st round (BT) Semi-finals (BC) Paul Smith
2011–12 BBL 1 6th 30 13 17 26 0.433 Semi-finals 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) John Lavery
Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season Trophy Cup Head Coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
Cheshire Phoenix
2012–13 BBL 1 11th 33 10 23 20 0.303 Did not qualify Semi-finals (BT) 1st round (BC) Matthew Lloyd
2013–14 BBL 1 5th 33 18 15 36 0.545 Quarter-finals Semi-finals (BT) 1st round (BC) John Lavery
2014–15 BBL 1 4th 36 26 10 52 0.722 Semi-finals 1st round (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) John Coffino
2015–16 BBL 1 7th 33 16 17 32 0.485 Semi-finals Quarter-finals (BT) Semi-finals (BC) John Lavery
2016–17 BBL 1 10th 33 11 22 22 0.333 Did not qualify Semi-finals (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Colin O'Reilly
Ben Thomas
2017–18 BBL 1 9th 33 15 18 30 0.455 Did not qualify Quarter-finals (BT) Winners, beating Worcester, 99–88 Ben Thomas
2018–19 BBL 1 7th 33 17 16 34 0.515 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Ben Thomas
2019–20 BBL 1 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Semi-finals (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Ben Thomas
2020–21 BBL 1 7th 30 14 16 28 0.467 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals (BT) Pool Stage (BC) Ben Thomas
2021–22 BBL 1 6th 27 13 14 26 0.481 Quarter-finals Winners, beating London (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Ben Thomas
2022–23 BBL 1 5th 36 19 17 38 0.528 Semi-finals Runners-Up (BT) Quarter-finals (BC) Ben Thomas
2023–24 BBL 1 2nd 36 23 13 46 0.639 Winners, beating London (BT) Ben Thomas

Notes:

  • From 1999 to 2002 the BBL operated a Conference system.
  • DNQ denotes Did not qualify.
  • NYP denotes Not Yet Played.

Trophies

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League

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  • NBL Division One Winners: 1990–91 1
  • BBL Championship Winners: 2001–02, & 2004–05 2
  • BBL Championship Runners Up: 2000–01 1

Playoffs

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  • BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2001–02 1
  • BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 2003–04, & 2004–05 2

Trophy

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  • BBL Trophy Winners: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2021–22, 2023–24 6
  • BBL Trophy Runners Up: 1996–97, 2009–10, 2022–23 3

Cup

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  • National Cup Winners: 2001–02, 2017–18 2
  • National Cup Runners Up: 2000–01, 2009–10 2

Players

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Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Pos. Nat. Player
1 SG United States USA Cameron Christon
3 G United States USA Laquincy Rideau
5 PG United Kingdom GBR Greg Wild
6 F United Kingdom GBR Jack Hudson
10 PF United Kingdom GBR David Ulph
14 G United States USA Maceo Jack
20 F United States USA Elijah Stephens
23 G United States USA Ethan Chargois
52 G United States USA Cam Holden

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Retired numbers

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Cheshire Phoenix retired numbers
No. Nat. Player Position Tenure
11 United Kingdom Dave Gardner C 1990–1995, 1997–1998 & 1999–2003

FIBA Hall of Famers

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Cheshire Phoenix Hall of Famers
Players
No. Nat. Name Position Tenure Inducted
13 New Zealand Pero Cameron G 1999–2003 2017[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Richard Taylor (7 April 2007). "Jets' future in doubt after Burton quits". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  2. ^ "Let's get on with it, says club legend Hamilton". Chester Chronicle. 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Gains, Bradley (28 January 2024). "Cheshire Phoenix stun London Lions to recapture BBL Trophy title". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  4. ^ "FIBA.basketball". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
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