# 1993–94 British Basketball League season

The 1993–94 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The season featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each.
The BBL secured a three year £1 million sponsorship deal with Budweiser and the divisions were re-organised once again. The Budweiser League would be tier one with the National League Division's below. The Budweiser League increased in number with the addition of the Division One champions Doncaster Panthers. The Cheshire Jets became the Chester Jets.
Thames Valley Tigers claimed the League Trophy and stormed to the regular season title, however the Bracknell-based side suffered a shock defeat to Derby Bucks and saw them eliminated in the Quarter-final of the Budweiser Championship Play-offs. Nevertheless, Tigers' Nigel Lloyd and Mick Bett were both awarded accolades as Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year respectively. Worthing Bears also secured a double success by winning the play-offs and securing the National Cup.

## Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Thames Valley Tigers | 36 | 31 | 5 | 0.861 | 62 |
| 2 | Worthing Bears | 36 | 30 | 6 | 0.833 | 60 |
| 3 | Manchester Giants | 36 | 29 | 7 | 0.805 | 58 |
| 4 | Guildford Kings | 36 | 24 | 12 | 0.667 | 48 |
| 5 | London Towers | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 6 | Birmingham Bullets | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 7 | Leicester City Riders | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0.555 | 40 |
| 8 | Derby Bucks | 36 | 17 | 19 | 0.473 | 34 |
| 9 | Doncaster Panthers | 36 | 13 | 23 | 0.362 | 26 |
| 10 | Sunderland Scorpions | 36 | 13 | 23 | 0.362 | 26 |
| 11 | Chester Jets | 36 | 11 | 25 | 0.305 | 22 |
| 12 | Hemel Royals | 36 | 3 | 33 | 0.083 | 6 |
| 13 | Oldham Celtics | 36 | 1 | 35 | 0.028 | 2 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals

(1) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (8) Derby Bucks
| Derby Bucks | 83–81 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 79–91 | Derby Bucks |
| Derby win series, 2–0 |||
(2) Worthing Bears vs. (7) Leicester City Riders
| Leicester City Riders | 83–96 | Worthing Bears |
| Worthing Bears | 104–77 | Leicester City Riders |
| Worthing win series, 2–0 |||
(3) Manchester Giants vs. (6) Birmingham Bullets
| Birmingham Bullets | 76–93 | Manchester Giants |
| Manchester Giants | 90–88 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Manchester win series, 2–0 |||
(4) Guildford Kings vs. (5) London Towers
| London Towers | 60–61 | Guildford Kings |
| Guildford Kings | 77–79 | London Towers |
| Guildford Kings | 66–53 | London Towers |
| Guildford win series, 2–1 |||

#### Semi-finals

| Worthing Bears | 77–75 | Derby Bucks |
* Wembley Arena, London
| Manchester Giants | 72–82 | Guildford Kings |
* Wembley Arena, London

#### Final

* Sky Sports
* 1 May 1994 16:00
| Worthing Bears | 71–65 | Guildford Kings |
| Scoring by quarter: 10–15, 17–19, 16–11, 28–20 |||
| Pts: Cunningham 16, Irish 15, Harried 12 Rebs: Irish 12 Asts: Harried/Nelson 3 MVP: Colin Irish | | Pts: Byrd 15, Politi 13, Cummings/Henlan 12, Rebs: Henlan 11 Asts: Byrd 3 |
* Wembley Arena, London Attendance: 9,000 Worthing Coach Alan Cunningham Guildford Coach Kevin Cadle

## National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Coventry Crusaders | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0.889 | 32 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace Mavericks | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | 24 |
| 3 | Cardiff Heat | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0.611 | 22 |
| 4 | Sheffield Forgers | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0.556 | 20 |
| 5 | Brixton TopCats | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0.556 | 20 |
| 6 | Stockton Mohawks | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0.500 | 18 |
| 7 | Ware Rebels | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0.444 | 16 |
| 8 | Solent Stars | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 |
| 9 | Bury Lobos | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0.222 | 8 |
| 10 | Plymouth Raiders | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0.167 | 6 |
* = League winners

## National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Nottingham Cobras | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.900 | 36 |
| 2 | Chiltern Fastbreak | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 3 | Swindon Sonics | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 4 | Guildford Storm | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Liverpool Atac | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 6 | Stevenage Phoenix | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 7 | Mid Sussex Magic | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 8 | Northampton 89ers | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | London Elephants | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 7* |
| 10 | Leicester Falcons | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
| 11 | Lewisham Lightning | 20 | 1 | 19 | 0.050 | 2 |
* = League winners

## National Cup
### Third round

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Derby Bucks | Worthing Bears | 80-94 |
| Hemel Hempstead Royals | Thames Valley Tigers | 75-98 |
| Sunderland Scorpions | Doncaster Panthers | 83-80 |
| Ware Rebels | Leicester City Riders | 56-71 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Swindon Sonics | 66-54 |
| London Towers | Chester Jets | 61-69 |
| Brixton TopCats | Manchester Giants | 86-110 |
| Oldham Celtics | Guildford Kings | 73-92 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| Sunderland Scorpions | Thames Valley Tigers | 80-89 |
| Cheshire Jets | Worthing Bears | 79-102 |
| Manchester Giants | Birmingham Bullets | 99-85 |
| Leicester City Riders | Guildford Kings | 55-64 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
| Manchester Eagles | Thames Valley Tigers | 72-93 | 80-98 |
| Worthing Bears | Guildford Kings | 71-68 | 93-77 |

### Final

* 5 March 1994
| Worthing Bears | 92–83 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Pts: Nigel Lloyd 21, Peter Scantlebury 17, Michael Hayles 13, Alan Cunningham 12, Colin Irish 12, Tony Holley | | Pts: Herman Harried 33, Steve Nelson 20, Cleave Lewis 15 |
* Sheffield Arena Attendance: ? Worthing Coach Alan Cunningham Thames Valley Coach Mick Bett

## League Trophy
### Group stage

North Group 1 :
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Leicester City Riders | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Derby Bucks | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
| 3.Doncaster Panthers | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
| 4.Chester Jets | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
North Group 2 :
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Manchester Giants | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Sunderland Scorpions | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Oldham Celtics | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
South Group 1 :
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Worthing Bears | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.London Towers | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Birmingham Bullets | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
South Group 2 :
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Thames Valley Tigers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Guildford Kings | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Hemel Royals | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |

### Semi-finals

Manchester Giants vs. Leicester City Riders
| Manchester Giants | 86–74 | Leicester City Riders |
| Leicester City Riders | 84–90 | Manchester Giants |
| Manchester win on aggregate, 176–158 |||
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Worthing Bears
| Worthing Bears | 94–88 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 89–78 | Worthing Bears |
| Thames Valley win on aggregate, 177–172 |||

### Final

* 16 Jan 1994
| Thames Valley Tigers | 79–73 | Manchester Giants |
| Pts: Tony Holley 28, Nigel Lloyd, Mike Obaseki | | Pts: Trevor Gordon |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Attendance: ? Thames Valley Coach Mick Bett Manchester Coach Jeff Jones

## Budweiser All-Star Game

* Sky Sports
* March 1994 7.05pm GMT
* Report
| Northern All-Stars | 140–148 | Southern All-Stars |
| Pts: Tyrone Thomas, 26 | | |
* Granby Halls, Leicester Attendance: 2,000
Northern All-Stars :
| Player | Team |
| Stedroy Baker | Doncaster Panthers |
| Russ Saunders | Sunderland Scorpions |
| Steve Merifield | Oldham Celtics |
| Gene Maldron | Leicester Riders |
| Kurt Samuels | Manchester Giants |
| Kevin St. Kitts | Manchester Giants |
| John Trezvant | Leicester Riders |
| Andy Gardiner | Manchester Giants |
| Jason Siemon | Derby Bucks |
| Trevor Gordon | Manchester Giants |
| Alan Bannister | Chester Jets |
| Coach ||
| Jerry Jenkins | Leicester Riders |
Southern All-Stars :
| Player | Team |
| Allen Koochof | London Lions |
| Karl Brown | Guildford Kings |
| Nigel Lloyd | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Solomon Ayinla | |
| Peter Scantlebury | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Tony Holley | Thames Valley Tigers |
| Richard Scantlebury | London Towers |
| Tyrone Thomas | Birmingham Bullets |
| Colin Irish | Worthing Bears |
| Herman Harried | Worthing Bears |
| Damon Harrell | |
| Coach ||
| Alan Cunningham | Worthing Bears |

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Nigel Lloyd (Thames Valley Tigers)
* Coach of the Year: Mick Bett (Thames Valley Tigers)
* All-Star Team:
** Trevor Gordon (Manchester Giants)
** Herman Harried (Worthing Bears)
** Tony Holley (Thames Valley Tigers)
** Colin Irish (Worthing Bears)
** Nigel Lloyd (Thames Valley Tigers)
** Russ Saunders (Sunderland Scorpions)
** Peter Scantlebury (Thames Valley Tigers)
** Jason Siemon (Derby Bucks)
** Tyrone Thomas (Birmingham Bullets)
** Gene Waldron (Leicester City Riders)