The 1994–95 BBL season was known as the Budweiser League for sponsorship reasons. The season featured a total of 13 teams, playing 36 games each. A major change saw the Guildford Kings franchise fold due to the club being unable to negotiate a viable contract with the owners of the Guildford Spectrum. The league sold Kings' licence to a group headed by Robert Earl, Ed Simons and Harvey Goldsmith, who established the Leopards. Oldham Celtics dropped down a division to National League Division One.
Newcomers Sheffield Sharks formerly Sheffield Forgers won the regular season and claimed the title in their rookie season in addition to becoming National Cup champions. Seventh-seed Worthing Bears caused a huge upset in the post-season Play-off to take the Championship crown with a memorable victory over Manchester Giants in the final.BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 12 The Thames Valley Tigers secured the BBL Trophy.
Budweiser League Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Sheffield Sharks 36 29 7 0.805582 Thames Valley Tigers 36 28 8 0.77856 3 London Towers 36 28 8 0.77856 4 Manchester Giants 36 26 10 0.72252 5 Doncaster Panthers 36 25 11 0.69450 6 Leopards 36 23 13 0.63846 7 Worthing Bears 36 20 16 0.555408 Birmingham Bullets 36 18 18 0.50036 9 Derby Bucks 36 10 26 0.27820 10 Hemel Royals 36 9 27 0.25018 11 Leicester City Riders 36 8 28 0.22216 12 Chester Jets 36 6 30 0.16712 13 Sunderland Scorpions 36 4 32 0.1118 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (1) Sheffield Sharks vs. (8) Birmingham Bullets
(2) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (7) Worthing Bears
(3) London Towers vs. (6) Leopards
(4) Manchester Giants vs. (5) Doncaster Panthers
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Crystal Palace 22 21 1 0.955422 Coventry Crusaders 22 18 4 0.81836 3 Ware Rebels 22 17 5 0.77334 4 Oldham Celtics 22 14 8 0.63628 5 Brixton TopCats 22 13 9 0.59126 6 Stockton Mohawks 22 10 12 0.455207 Bury Wildcats 22 9 13 0.40918 8 Nottingham Cobras 22 9 13 0.40918 9 Plymouth Raiders 22 7 15 0.31814 10 Solent Stars 22 7 15 0.31814 11 Slough Waterside 22 6 16 0.27312 12 Swindon Sonics 22 1 21 0.0452 = League winners
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Cardiff Phoenix 20 18 2 0.900362 Mid Sussex Magic 20 15 5 0.75030 3 Worcester Chiefs 20 12 8 0.60024 4 Liverpool Atac 20 12 8 0.60024 5 Oxford Dons 20 12 8 0.60024 6 South Bank 20 10 10 0.500207 Westminster 20 9 11 0.45018 8 Sheffield Forgers 20 8 12 0.40016 9 Northampton 89ers 20 7 13 0.3501410 Stevenage Phoenix 20 5 15 0.25010 11 Greenwich Admirals 20 2 18 0.1004 = League winners
National Cup
Fourth round Team 1 Team 2 Score Sheffield Sharks Derby Bucks 57–56 Hemel Hempstead Royals Leopards 94–120 Sunderland Scorpions Doncaster Panthers 94–99 Ware Rebels Birmingham Bullets 94–110 Chester Jets Manchester Eagles 78–76 Worthing Bears London Towers 82–94 Crystal Palace Thames Valley Tigers 60–74 Coventry Crusaders Leicester Riders 79–83
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Doncaster Panthers Thames Valley Tigers 59–78 Leopards London Towers 76–75 Chester Jets Sheffield Sharks 73–75 Leicester City Riders Birmingham Bullets 79–99
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg Leopards Thames Valley Tigers 86-80 83–99 Sheffield Sharks Birmingham Bullets 71-72 73–68
Final
7 Up Trophy
Group stage North Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Doncaster Panthers106510.8332.Leicester City Riders86420.6673.Derby Bucks46240.3334.Sunderland Scorpions26150.166 North Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Sheffield Sharks64310.7502.Manchester Giants84310.7503.Chester Jets04040.000 South Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Thames Valley Tigers64310.7502.Birmingham Bullets64310.7503.Hemel Royals04040.000 South Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Worthing Bears64310.7502.London Towers44220.5003.Leopards24130.250
Sheffield finished ahead of Manchester by having the best head-to-head record between the teams. Thames Valley finished ahead of Birmingham by having the best head-to-head record between the teams.
Semi-finals Doncaster Panthers vs. Sheffield Sharks
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Worthing Bears
Final
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks) Coach of the Year: Jim Brandon (Sheffield Sharks) All-Star Team: Roger Huggins (Sheffield Sharks) Karl Brown (Leopards) Steve Bucknall (London Towers) Chris Fite (Doncaster Panthers) Herman Harried (Worthing Bears) Nigel Lloyd (Birmingham Bullets) Mark Robinson (Manchester Giants) Peter Scantlebury (Thames Valley Tigers) Tony Windless (London Towers) Robert Youngblood (Leopards)
References