Basketball is a very fast paced game and you never know what the result might be. Famous teams might disappoint the audience while smaller ones might make an exceptional game in spite of everybody’s expectations.
If you think about it, one could argue that basketball is a bit like gambling: there’s a bit of luck involved in every success. Speaking of luck, why don’t you try yours at an online bookmaker or a Pennsylvania online casino? This might be the chance you’ve been waiting for.
Returning to basketball, September brings a major event in the world of British Basketball: the O2, or the British Basketball All-Stars Championship, to be precise. The event takes place at the London O2 Arena on September 24 2017.
The prize fund reaches a record breaking sum of £100,000. The winner gets £25,000 while the runner-up gets £20,000. The losing semi-finalists get £12,500. Teams who win once get £10,000 while teams who don’t win at all get £5,000.
About the tournament
For those who have never been to the O2 before, here’s what will be going on there: the top 8 teams in the British Basketball League will compete in a tournament in 12-minute long matches with a 20-second shot clock. Each team is allowed to have a 30-second timeout per match at any point in the game.
Here are the 8 teams who will battle each other in this year’s competition:
- Worcester Wolves
- Bristol Flyers
- Surrey Scorchers
- DBL Sharks Sheffield
- London Lions
- Glasgow Rocks
- Leicester Riders
- Esh Group Eagles Newcastle
Each team of up to 12 players (as per BBL rules) will play a maximum of 3 matches in this double elimination format tournament. If a team has 2 out of 3 wins, they go directly to the Semi Finals. On the other hand, if they lose twice, they are out of the competition. The Semis and the Final involves a straight knockout.
Each team can double its points in a 2-minute Power Play. This can happen only in the first 10 minutes of the game and you can’t ask for it while the opposing team is in motion. Teams are allowed to make a change at any moment of the game.
Players can make up to 3 personal fouls in each game at which point he will be sent to the so called Sin Bin for 30 seconds. During this time, the team of the suspended player won’t be able to replace anyone. If a team exceeds the 6 team fouls limit per game, they will lose possession and one point for each additional foul. Also, no free throws are allowed in this championship.
Tickets
If you want to purchase a ticket, you will have to go to theo2.co.uk. Group tickets start at £20 while individual adult tickets cost on average, £60 each. The tournament starts at 1 pm and finishes at 6 pm. You get 20% if you buy at least 20 tickets. There’s also an offer where you get a free ticket for 3 paid ones.