# 1989–90 British Basketball League season

The 1989–90 BBL season was the third season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons) since its establishment in 1987. The season featured a total of just eight teams, playing 28 games each. Due to the low number of teams, the post-season play-offs featured only the top four teams from the regular season instead of the usual top eight finishers. The future of the league was in the balance due to the waning number of teams. Livingston folded, Crystal Palace and Hemel Hempstead Watford Royals both dropped to the National League and Glasgow Rangers moved back to Kingston. There was small consolation in the formation of a new club called London Docklands (formerly Tower Hamlets) which joined the league.
Kingston completed a clean sweep of all four trophies claiming the title and play-off crown, as well as the National Cup and NatWest League Trophy.
Oldham Celtics secured the second tier league title for a second consecutive year.

## Carlsberg League (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Kingston | 28 | 25 | 3 | 0.892 | 50 |
| 2 | Manchester Giants | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0.750 | 42 |
| 3 | Sunderland 76ers | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0.714 | 40 |
| 4 | Bracknell Tigers | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0.714 | 40 |
| 5 | Derby Rams | 28 | 10 | 18 | 0.357 | 20 |
| 6 | Leicester City Riders | 28 | 7 | 21 | 0.250 | 14 |
| 7 | Solent Stars | 28 | 7 | 21 | 0.250 | 14 |
| 8 | London Docklands | 28 | 2 | 26 | 0.071 | 4 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Semi-finals

* 13 April 1990
| Kingston | 83–72 | Bracknell Tigers |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
* 13 April 1990
| Manchester Giants | 106–111 (OT) | Sunderland 76ers |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

#### Third place

* 14 April 1990
| Manchester Giants | 110–103 | Bracknell Tigers |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

#### Final

* 14 April 1990
| Kingston | 87–82 | Sunderland Saints |
| Pts: Alan Cunningham (MVP) 20, Martin Clark 15, Micah Blunt 12, Richard Scantlebury 10, Mike Griffiths 8, Paul Stimpson | | Pts: Russ Saunders 23, Clyde Vaughan 21, Scott Wilke, Ken Nottage, Steve Nelson |
* National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? Kingston coach Kevin Cadle Sunderland coach Craig Lynch

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Oldham Celtics | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0.909 | 40 |
| 2 | Worthing Bears | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0.864 | 38 |
| 3 | Brixton TopCats | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0.864 | 38 |
| 4 | Hemel Hempstead Royals | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Bury Lobos | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 6 | Cheshire Jets | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 8 | Birmingham Bullets | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0.364 | 16 |
| 9 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0.364 | 16 |
| 10 | Stevenage Falcons | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 11 | Gateshead Vikings | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 12 | Corby Flyers | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
* = League winners

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Doncaster Eagles | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.900 | 36 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 3 | Stockport Giants | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 4 | Watford Rebels | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 5 | Cardiff Bay Buccaneers | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 | 18 |
| 6 | Greenwich | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 | 18 |
| 7 | Manchester Blue Jays | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 8 | North London College | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 9 | Birmingham Bullets B | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 10 | Kirklees | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0.250 | 10 |
| 11 | Calderdale Explorers | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
* = League winners

## Coca-Cola National Cup
### Quarter-finals

| Kingston | 102–89 | Manchester Giants |
| Bury Lobos | 88–98 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Derby Rams | 98–82 | Solent Stars |
| Sunderland 76ers | 137–94 | Stockport |

### Semi-finals

* 24 March 1990
| Kingston | 87–68 | Bracknell Tigers |
* London Arena
* 24 March 1990
| Derby Rams | 79–83 | Sunderland 76ers |
* London Arena

### Final

* 25 March 1990
| Kingston | 103–78 | Sunderland 76ers |
| Pts: Alan Cunningham 18, Richard Scantlebury 18, Micah Blunt 16, Mike Griffiths 13, Martin Clark 12, Alton Byrd 12, Matthew Cunningham, Steve Tomaschek | | |
* London Arena Attendance: 5,800 Kingston Coach Kevin Cadle Sunderland Coach Craig Lynch

## NatWest Trophy
### Group stage

North Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1. Manchester Giants | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2. Sunderland 76ers | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| 3. Leicester City Riders | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| 4. Derby Rams | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
South Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1. Kingston | 10 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| 2. Bracknell Tigers | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| 3. Solent Stars | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.166 |
| 4. London Docklands | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.166 |

### Semi-finals

Manchester Giants vs. Sunderland 76ers
| Manchester Giants | 98–95 | Sunderland 76ers |
| Sunderland 76ers | 87–88 | Manchester Giants |
| Manchester win on aggregate, 186–182 |||
Kingston vs. Bracknell Tigers
| Bracknell Tigers | 88–107 | Kingston |
| Kingston | 129–99 | Bracknell Tigers |
| Kingston win on aggregate, 236–187 |||

### Final

* 4 December 1989
| Kingston | 86–77 | Manchester Giants |
| Pts: Joel Moore 25, Martin Clark 16, Alan Cunningham 12, Micah Blunt 11, Richard Scantlebury 10, Alton Byrd 10, Mike Griffiths 2 | | Pts: Jerry Johnson 22, Dave Gardner 19, Kris Kearney 11, Kevin St Kitts 10, Kevin Penny 7, Jason Fogerty 6, Keith Ramsey 2 |
* Royal Albert Hall, London Attendance: ? Kingston coach Kevin Cadle Manchester coach Jeff Jones

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Clyde Vaughan (Sunderland 76ers)
* Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (Kingston)
* All-Star Team:
** Alton Byrd (Kingston)
** Kris Kearney (Manchester Giants)
** Dale Roberts (Bracknell Tigers)
** Russ Saunders (Sunderland 76ers)
** Peter Scantlebury (Bracknell Tigers)
** Kenny Scott (Derby Rams)
** Tom Seaman (Bracknell Tigers)
** Mike Spaid (Solent Stars)
** Clyde Vaughan (Sunderland 76ers)
** Scott Wilke (Sunderland 76ers)