Chester Jets
| Cheshire Phoenix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| League | British Basketball League | ||
| Established | 1984 | ||
| History |
Ellesmere Port Jets 1984–1988 Chester Jets 1988–2007 Cheshire Jets 2007–2012 Cheshire Phoenix 2012–present |
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| Arena |
Cheshire Oaks Arena (Capacity: 1,400) |
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| Location | Ellesmere Port, Cheshire | ||
| Team colours | Blue and White |
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| Head coach | Ben Thomas | ||
| Website | CheshirePhoenix.com | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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The Cheshire Phoenix is a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village. Under previous ownership, the team was known as Cheshire Jets, but due to financial difficulties the franchise was withdrawn from the League in November 2012 and was replaced by the Phoenix. From 1993 until 2015 the team was based in Chester, where they enjoyed their most success.
At the end of the 2014-2015 season, John Coffino left the team and was replaced by John Lavery, whose tenure came to an end in May 2016. Following the 2016/17 season, the Phoenix replaced John Lavery as head coach with former player and Irish National coach Colin O'Reilly. However, after a difficult start to the season, January 2017 saw the return of Robbie Peers as head coach some 13 years after his departure to the now-defunct London Towers.
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.
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