Coach Jones finished fifth in his first season as well as taking the team to the National Cup Final where they lost 87–75 to Bracknell. Manchester United wanted to develop the continental idea of sporting clubs and to set up a dominant basketball club. 2000-01 Championship Final - Leicester v Sheffield - Duration: 2:24:33. There were moves to the Armitage Centre, the new Velodrome and, most significant of all, to the Manchester Evening News Arena for the start of the 1995–96 season.That 1989–90 team included memorable players such as Jason Fogerty, Tony Penny, Jerry Johnson, Dave Gardner, Kris Kearney, Keith Ramsey and Kevin St. Kitts – the last four of whom are among the dozen players to have hit 1,000 career points for the franchise.For the first time since the original franchise folded in 2001, the Giants were back in business. The Giants won 87 of their 106 games in the last two seasons, winning a BBL record 45 in 1999–2000.They moved to the Manchester Velodrome, towards the end of the 2000/01 season but, after an abortive rebirth in the hands of the Montgomery Sports Group – creators of the Sheffield Sharks – the Giants folded nine games into the 2001–02 season.Jones said: “I am absolutely delighted to be back coaching the Manchester Giants.By the end of that season, Hanks was out and the coach with the most successful record in club history – Joe Whelton – was back.A statement from the league read: “We are delighted to announce that the Manchester Giants are back in the ranks of the British Basketball League for the 2012/13 season.It was the first of 12 wins that saw the Giants, lead by Jeff Jones – player and coach of the club in their first incarnation in the 1970s, 80s and 90s – make a successful comeback to the country’s professional league, eventually finishing ninth and narrowly missing out on the post-season play-offs.Guard James Jones fired in 29 points as the club’s ‘Second Coming’ in the British Basketball League was heralded by a thrilling opening-night victory.After an absence of more than 10 years, Manchester Giants made its return to the top-tier British Basketball League following the return of the franchise a year earlier.The Giants had first emerged on the Manchester basketball scene in the mid-1970s.Brandon did win his final game as Giants’ head coach as they defeated London in the third-place game – more significantly Brandon started an all-English team of Matt Hogarth, Mike Bernard, Jason Swaine, Danny Craven and Ronnie Baker.Plans for the resurrection of the club – one of the biggest and best-supported names in the game – had been reported by the Manchester Evening News in 2011 and came to fruition in early 2012 with the new owners – a consortium of Manchester ‘basketball enthusiasts’ – confirming their intention to bring the franchise back to life.“The move marks a rebirth of a sporting team with a successful and long history in Manchester. The new franchise has been 18 months in the making and the people behind the club hope that success on the court will be reflected in a successful, sustainable, community-based organisation off the court.”It saw United – with the likes of Tom Brown and Dave Gardner added for the 1985–86 season – record 23 straight wins to storm to the National League title and the BBL era.After several disappointing years in which the Giants struggled to live up to the expectations of their huge support, Nick Nurse was brought back to British basketball in 1998 to try and end the team’s 12-year wait for a trophy.In the meantime, Jeff Jones coached Manchester Magic in England Basketball League Division One, helping the club win trophies and become the nation’s leading centre in developing youth talent.“It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage but we are only a months away from the first match of the new season and a new era for basketball in Manchester and a new force in the BBL.”“It has been a long-term ambition of mine to bring a professional basketball franchise back to Manchester and we’re aiming to hit the ground running and introduce a competitive team to the league, with a good balance of home-grown talent with more experienced players.”After success, came decline, though, with the Cook Group pulling out and the Arena proving too big a drain on the the club’s finances.The original Giants is first established, based at Sale Leisure Centre, playing in the National League.In just the club's second season back in the BBL, it ended with a 14-19 record in the league to qualify for the end of season play-offs.