PAWS London Capital
| PAWS London Capital | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| League |
EBL Division 2 (At time of closing) |
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| Established | 1998 | ||
| Folded | 2013 | ||
| History |
North West London Wolverines 1998-2004 London Capital 2004-2013 |
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| Arena |
Capital City Academy (Capacity: 300) |
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| Location | London, Greater London | ||
| Team colours | Blue, Orange and White | ||
| Website | www.londoncapital.org (No longer active) |
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| Uniforms | |||
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London Capital, officially called PAWS London Capital in reference to their partnership with PAWS Foundation, were a basketball team based in London, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League for a three-year period in 2007-2010, but were demoted to the second-tier EBL Division 1 following a review of the team's progress both on and off the court. The team were subsequently relegated to Division 2 at the end of the 2011/2012 season, and were withdrawn from the league in October 2013 for "failing to fulfil National League obligations".
The franchise started out as the North West London Wolverines, and were immediately accepted into Division 3 of the National Basketball League in 1998, but only after withdrawals from the originally accepted 12 teams meant that a replacement was required. However, they quickly justified their inclusion, finishing that first season just behind Hull and North London, who were both promoted. In 2000, they finished seventh (out of thirteen), and in the 'clean-sheet' reorganisation of the League they were accepted into Division 2 (though this was still the third-ranked division, after the formation of the Conference), but again only after withdrawals created extra vacancies.
Finishing ninth in 2001, they continued their 'skin of the teeth' progress by gaining promotion to the expanded Division 1 after Birmingham Aces dropped out. The next season was one of consolidation, as they finished ninth, but they continued their steady progression, finishing third (behind Team Bath Romans on countback), and reaching the Championship Final, but just missing out on promotion. That promotion, though, was won in fine style the following year (2004), when they took the newly renamed EBL Division 2 title, though they again fell at the final hurdle in the playoffs.
During that season they had begun to draw together the various stands of the club's development work, and their entry into Division 1 for the 2004/2005 season came under their new name after a partnership was agreed with local community support group PAWS Foundation. Again, the team spent some time consolidating their position after promotion, finishing 9th and 11th in successive years, before the 2006/2007 season saw them rise to 5th in the league, and saw them make the Semi-Finals in their first Division One playoff appearance.
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