1990–91 British Basketball League season
The 1990–91 BBL season was the 4th 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 nine teams, playing 24 games each.
Following a new £1.3 million sponsorship deal with Carlsberg, the sport was unified once more as three divisions of the Carlsberg League were created.
Solent Stars dropped out of the top tier and would play their basketball in Division Four.[1] Hemel Hempstead Royals and Worthing Bears returned to top tier action and the Bracknell Tigers became the Thames Valley Tigers.
| 1990–91 BBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | British Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Roll of Honour | |
| BBL champions | Kingston |
| Play Off's champions | Kingston |
| National Cup champions | Sunderland |
| BBL Trophy champions | Kingston |
Kingston claimed the Division One title and Play-off crown,[2] as well as the League Trophy, earning their coach Kevin Cadle and star player Alton Byrd the award's for Coach and Player of the Year respectively. Sunderland claimed the National Cup preventing another Kingston clean sweep.
Carlsberg League Division One (Tier 1)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingston | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0.958 | 46 |
| 2 | Sunderland Saints | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0.750 | 36 |
| 3 | Thames Valley Tigers | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0.583 | 28 |
| 4 | Leicester City Riders | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0.583 | 28 |
| 5 | Derby Rams | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0.500 | 24 |
| 6 | Manchester Giants | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0.500 | 24 |
| 7 | Worthing Bears | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0.417 | 20 |
| 8 | Hemel Royals | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0.167 | 8 |
| 9 | London Docklands | 24 | 1 | 23 | 0.042 | 2 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
Quarter-finals
(1) Kingston vs. (8) Hemel Royals
(2) Sunderland Saints vs. (7) Worthing Bears
(3) Thames Valley Tigers vs. (6) Manchester Giants
(4) Leicester City Riders vs. (5) Derby Rams
Semi-finals
Final
| Kingston | 94–72 | Sunderland Saints |
| Pts: Alton Byrd (MVP) 22, Alan Cunningham 22, Martin Clark 17 | Pts: Russ Saunders 19, Scott Paterson 18, Steve Bucknall 15 |
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Attendance: ? Kingston coach Kevin Cadle Sunderand coach Dave Elderkin |
National League Division 2 (Tier 2)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheshire Jets | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.773 | 34 |
| 2 | Bury Lobos | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 3 | Broxbourne | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Watford Rebels | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Oldham Celtics | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 26 |
| 6 | Doncaster Eagles | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 8 | Birmingham Bullets | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 9 | Brixton TopCats | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 10 | Coventry Flyers | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0.273 | 12 |
| 11 | Manchester Giants B | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 12 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| = League winners |
National League Division 3 (Tier 3)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenwich | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0.955 | 42 |
| 2 | Barnsley Generals | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.772 | 34 |
| 3 | Cardiff Buccaneers | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Chiltern Fastbreak | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 28 |
| 5 | Cheshire Bulls | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
| 6 | Kirklees Leos | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 7 | Leicester Falcons | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 8 | North London College | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 20 |
| 9 | Swindon Rakers | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0.364 | 16 |
| 10 | Calderdale Explorers | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
| 11 | Birmingham Bullets B | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0.273 | 12 |
| 12 | Fylde Coasters | 22 | 2 | 20 | 0.091 | 4 |
| = League winners |
Coca-Cola National Cup
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
3 March 1991[3] |
| Sunderland Saints | 88–81 | Leicester City Riders |
| Pts: Russ Saunders 23, Scott Paterson 21, Clyde Vaughan 15, Peter Scantlebury 15, Steve Bucknall (MVP) 12 | Pts: Gene Waldron 26, Dan Meagher 16, Dip Donaldson 15, Karl Brown 12 |
NatWest Trophy
Group stage
North Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Manchester Giants | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Leicester City Riders | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Sunderland Saints | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 4.Derby Rams | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 5.Hemel Royals | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
South Group
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Kingston | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Thames Valley Tigers | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| 3.Worthing Bears | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.166 |
| 4.London Docklands | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.166 |
Semi-finals
Manchester Giants vs. Leicester City Riders
Kingston vs. Thames Valley Tigers
Final
2 December 1990[4] |
| Kingston | 69–59 | Manchester Giants |
| Pts: Alan Cunningham (MVP) 24, Alton Byrd 12, Trevor Gordon 12, Martin Clark 10, Martin Henlan | Pts: Kevin Penny 15, Kris Kearney 12, Mike Obaseki |
Seasonal awards
- Most Valuable Player: Alton Byrd (Kingston)
- Coach of the Year: Kevin Cadle (Kingston)
- All-Star Team:
- Steve Bucknall (Sunderland Saints)
- Alton Byrd (Kingston)
- Martin Clark (Kingston)
- Alan Cunningham (Kingston)
- Kris Kearney (Manchester Giants)
- Ernest Lee (Derby Rams)
- Dan Meagher (Leicester City Riders)
- Dale Roberts (Thames Valley Tigers)
- Russ Saunders (Sunderland Saints)
- Clyde Vaughan (Sunderland Saints)
References
- "Nicholas Harling. "Solent are back on the road to recovery." Times [London, England] 18 Dec. 1990". The Times.
- BBL Media Guide 2003/04, page 14
- "Nicholas Harling. "Trophy goes to Wearside." Times [London, England] 4 Mar. 1991". The Times.
- "Nicholas Harling. "Defence has final say for faltering Kingston." Times [London, England] 3 Dec. 1990". The Times.