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.BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 12 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 PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Thames Valley Tigers 36 31 5 0.861622 Worthing Bears 36 30 6 0.83360 3 Manchester Giants 36 29 7 0.80558 4 Guildford Kings 36 24 12 0.66748 5 London Towers 36 21 15 0.58342 6 Birmingham Bullets 36 21 15 0.58342 7 Leicester City Riders 36 20 16 0.555408 Derby Bucks 36 17 19 0.47334 9 Doncaster Panthers 36 13 23 0.36226 10 Sunderland Scorpions 36 13 23 0.36226 11 Chester Jets 36 11 25 0.30522 12 Hemel Royals 36 3 33 0.0836 13 Oldham Celtics 36 1 35 0.0282 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals (1) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (8) Derby Bucks
(2) Worthing Bears vs. (7) Leicester City Riders
(3) Manchester Giants vs. (6) Birmingham Bullets
(4) Guildford Kings vs. (5) London Towers
Semi-finals
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Coventry Crusaders 18 16 2 0.889322 Crystal Palace Mavericks 18 12 6 0.66724 3 Cardiff Heat 18 11 7 0.61122 4 Sheffield Forgers 18 10 8 0.55620 5 Brixton TopCats 18 10 8 0.55620 6 Stockton Mohawks 18 9 9 0.500187 Ware Rebels 18 8 10 0.44416 8 Solent Stars 18 7 11 0.38914 9 Bury Lobos 18 4 14 0.2228 10 Plymouth Raiders 18 3 15 0.1676 = League winners
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Nottingham Cobras 20 18 2 0.900362 Chiltern Fastbreak 20 15 5 0.75030 3 Swindon Sonics 20 13 7 0.65026 4 Guildford Storm 20 13 7 0.65026 5 Liverpool Atac 20 12 8 0.60024 6 Stevenage Phoenix 20 12 8 0.600247 Mid Sussex Magic 20 11 9 0.55022 8 Northampton 89ers 20 8 12 0.40016 9 London Elephants 20 4 16 0.2007*10 Leicester Falcons 20 3 17 0.1506 11 Lewisham Lightning 20 1 19 0.0502 = 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
League Trophy
Group stage + North Group 1TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Leicester City Riders63301.0002.Derby Bucks23120.3333.Doncaster Panthers23120.3334.Chester Jets23120.333
+ North Group 2TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Manchester Giants42201.0002.Sunderland Scorpions22110.5003.Oldham Celtics02020.000
+ South Group 1TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Worthing Bears42201.0002.London Towers22110.5003.Birmingham Bullets02020.000
+ South Group 2TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Thames Valley Tigers42201.0002.Guildford Kings22110.5003.Hemel Royals02020.000
Semi-finals Manchester Giants vs. Leicester City Riders
Thames Valley Tigers vs. Worthing Bears
Final
Budweiser All-Star Game
+Northern All-StarsPlayer 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-StarsPlayer 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)
References