1992–93 British Basketball League season
# 1992–93 British Basketball League season

The 1992–93 BBL season was the sixth season of the British Basketball League (known as the Carlsberg League for sponsorship reasons) since its establishment in 1987. The first division featuring a total of 12 teams, playing 33 games each increased in number by one following the admittance of the Oldham Celtics. The Kingston Kings moved from the Tolworth Leisure Centre to new home in Guildford at the Spectrum Arena and became the Guildford Kings.

Worthing Bears were the dominant force in the regular season and sustained their momentum in the post-season Play-off, claiming silverware in both competitions. Their closest rivals were Thames Valley Tigers, who had to settle for second place but were able to enjoy some glory by lifting the League Trophy following a win in the final over the Guildford Kings.

## Carlsberg League Division One (Tier 1)

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Worthing Bears | 33 | 31 | 2 | 0.939 | 62 |
| 2 | Thames Valley Tigers | 33 | 28 | 5 | 0.848 | 56 |
| 3 | London Towers | 33 | 25 | 8 | 0.757 | 50 |
| 4 | Guildford Kings | 33 | 25 | 8 | 0.757 | 50 |
| 5 | Birmingham Bullets | 33 | 17 | 16 | 0.515 | 34 |
| 6 | Derby Bucks | 33 | 14 | 19 | 0.424 | 28 |
| 7 | Oldham Celtics | 33 | 14 | 19 | 0.424 | 28 |
| 8 | Leicester City Riders | 33 | 12 | 21 | 0.363 | 24 |
| 9 | Manchester Giants | 33 | 12 | 21 | 0.363 | 24 |
| 10 | Cheshire Jets | 33 | 10 | 23 | 0.303 | 20 |
| 11 | Sunderland Saints | 33 | 6 | 27 | 0.182 | 12 |
| 12 | Hemel Royals | 33 | 4 | 29 | 0.121 | 8 |

* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs

**Quarter-finals**

(1) Worthing Bears vs. (8) Leicester City Riders

| Leicester City Riders | 63–84 | Worthing Bears |
| - | - | - |
| Worthing Bears | 94–84 | Leicester City Riders |
| Worthing win series, 2–0 |||

(2) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (7) Oldham Celtics

| Oldham Celtics | 85–112 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| - | - | - |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 98–86 | Oldham Celtics |
| Thames Valley win series, 2–0 |||

(3) London Towers vs. (6) Derby Bucks

| Derby Bucks | 93–95 (OT) | London Towers |
| - | - | - |
| London Towers | 94–99 | Derby Bucks |
| London Towers | 97–93 | Derby Bucks |
| London win series, 2–1 |||

(4) Guildford Kings vs. (5) Birmingham Bullets

| Birmingham Bullets | 92–86 | Guildford Kings |
| - | - | - |
| Guildford Kings | 93–85 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Guildford Kings | 82–75 | Birmingham Bullets |
| Guildford win series, 2–1 |||

**Semi-finals**

* 1 May 1993

| Worthing Bears | 74–73 | Guildford Kings |
| - | - | - |

* Wembley Arena, London
* 1 May 1993

| Thames Valley Tigers | 97–87 | London Towers |
| - | - | - |

* Wembley Arena, London

**Final**

* 2 May 1993

| Worthing Bears | 75–74 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| - | - | - |
| Pts: Colin Irish, Steve Nelson, Alan Cunningham, Kalpatrick Wells, Mark Hubbard, Cleave Lewis | | Pts: Mike Obaseki, Lester James, Nigel Lloyd, Nick Cooke |

* Wembley Arena, London Attendance: ? Worthing Coach Alan Cunningham Thames Valley Coach Mick Bett

## National League Division 2 (Tier 2)

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Doncaster Panthers | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0.909 | 40 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.773 | 34 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.728 | 32 |
| 4 | Ware Rebels | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Cardiff Heat | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 26 |
| 6 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 7 | Brixton TopCats | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 8 | Bury Lobos | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 9 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0.409 | 18 |
| 10 | Solent Stars | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 11 | Lewisham Lightning | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
| 12 | Barnsley Generals | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |

* = League winners

## National League Division 3 (Tier 3)

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sheffield Forgers | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 2 | Sedgefield Racers | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 3 | Liverpool Atac | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 4 | Guildford Storm | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Swindon Sonics | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 6 | South London Elephants | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 7 | Leicester Falcons | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 8 | Stevenage Phoenix | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | Chiltern Fastbreak | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 10 | Camberley Eagles | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
| 11 | Mid Sussex Magic | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0.100 | 4 |

* = League winners

## National Cup

### Third round

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Derby Bucks | Oldham Celtics | 92-84 |
| Hemel Hempstead Royals | Ware Rebels | 93-96 |
| Thames Valley Tigers | Sunderland Saints | 96-78 |
| Worthing Bears | Plymouth Raiders | 131-79 |
| Birmingham Bullets | Manchester Giants | 73-82 |
| Cheshire Jets | London Towers | 85-74 |
| Doncaster Panthers | Leicester City Riders | 88-93 |
| Crystal Palace | Guildford Kings | |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Ware Rebels | Worthing Bears | 62-92 |
| Cheshire Jets | Thames Valley Tigers | 71-76 |
| Manchester Giants | Guildford Kings | 57-91 |
| Derby Bucks | Leicester City Riders | 71-115 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Team 2 | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
| - | - | - | - |
| Guildford Kings | Thames Valley Tigers | 83-81 | 84-83 |
| Leicester City Riders | Worthing Bears | 99-100 | 77-90 |

### Final

* 28 February 1993

| Guildford Kings | 82–72 | Worthing Bears |
| - | - | - |
| Pts: Trevor Gordon 24, Carl Miller 20, Karl Brown 10 | | Pts: Colin Irish 19, Mark Hubbard 18, Mike Spaid 16 |

* Doncaster Dome Attendance: 2,000 Guildford Coach Kevin Cadle Worthing Coach Alan Cunningham

## NatWest Trophy

### Group stage

North Group 1

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1.Derby Bucks | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Sunderland Saints | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Oldham Celtics | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |

North Group 2

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1.Leicester City Riders | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Manchester Giants | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Chester Jets | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |

South Group 1

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1.Thames Valley Tigers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Birmingham Bullets | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.London Towers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |

South Group 2

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1.Guildford Kings | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Worthing Bears | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 3.Hemel Royals | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |

### Semi-finals

Derby Bucks vs. Guildford Kings

| Derby Bucks | 92–124 | Guildford Kings |
| - | - | - |
| Guildford Kings | 85–84 | Derby Bucks |
| Guildford win on aggregate, 209–176 |||

Leicester City Riders vs. Thames Valley Tigers

| Leicester City Riders | 112–106 | Thames Valley Tigers |
| - | - | - |
| Thames Valley Tigers | 114–98 | Leicester City Riders |
| Thames Valley win on aggregate, 177–172 |||

### Final

* 17 January 1993

| Thames Valley Tigers | 91–84 | Guildford Kings |
| - | - | - |
| Pts: Lester James (MVP) 24, Nigel Lloyd 17, Kevin St Kitts, Mike Obaseki, Michael Hayles | | Pts: Trevor Gordon 24 Alton Byrd 20, Martin Henlan, Carl Miller |

* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Attendance: ? Thames Valley Coach Mick Bett Guildford Coach Kevin Cadle

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Colin Irish (Worthing Bears)
* Coach of the Year: Mick Bett (Thames Valley Tigers)
* All-Star Team:
   * Trevor Gordon (Guildford Kings)
   * Colin Irish (Worthing Bears)
   * Cleave Lewis (Worthing Bears)
   * Nigel Lloyd (Thames Valley Tigers)
   * Joel Moore (London Towers)
   * Derek Rucker (Birmingham Bullets)
   * Peter Scantlebury (London Towers)
   * Billy Singleton (Birmingham Bullets)
   * Tyrone Thomas (Cheshire Jets)
   * Gene Waldron (Leicester City Riders)
