Basketball: Tigers' desire fulfilled

Two wins in 24 hours earned Thames Valley Tigers the first league championship in their history on Saturday night, after they finished runners-up in each of the last two seasons and 18 years after their predecessors entered the competition as Southern Pirates Guildford, writes Duncan Hooper.

Friday night's 97-81 win over Birmingham Bullets brought Sunderland Scorpions to Bracknell Sports Centre as the sacrificial offering on Saturday night and Tigers dispatched them 104-75 to move beyond the reach of Manchester Giants and Worthing Bears.

In January, Tigers won the league trophy for the first time and, after losing the National Cup final to Worthing at the beginning of March, the coach, Mick Bett, guided the team through a nervous final few weeks.

The millionaire club owner, John Nike, and his dinner- suited fellow directors, on their way to the Mayor's Ball, saw the former England international, Bett, come off the bench to play the final four minutes and score four points.