Divizia A (Baschet Masculin)

The Divizia A is the top-tier professional basketball league of Romania. There are 16 teams in Men's Division A.

The regular season begins in October and is played over a normal round-robin home-and-away basis. The first 8 clubs qualify for the play-offs. The play-offs are played using the knock-out format. The quarter-finals and semifinals use "best of 5" series, while the final is played using a "best of 7" series. The last 2 teams following the regular season are automatically relegated to the Division B.

History

The championship was founded in 1950 and the most successful club is Dinamo Bucureşti with 22 titles, followed closely by Steaua Bucureşti with 21. But in recent years Asesoft Ploieşti is the best team in the country, winning the championship 6 times consecutively, 2004-Present. Asesoft is the only Romanian team who won a European competition, namely the FIBA EuroCup Challenge, in 2005.

Notable Divizia A players

Despite its mediocre present, Romanian basketball had a bright past, three of its former players becoming worldwide basketball stars. These three players have been recently inducted in the European Basketball Hall of Fame, as a recognition for their glorious careers.

• Gheorghe Mureşan - Signed in 1993 with the Washington Bullets, becoming the tallest player ever in the NBA. Played 6 successful seasons with the Bullets and the New Jersey Nets, averaging a career 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists. Obtained the title of NBA Most Improved Player following the 1995–96 NBA season. Began his career playing two years for Universitatea Cluj-Napoca.

• Antonio Alexe - Played all his career in the Romanian and Hungarian basketball leagues. Became Romanian champion 3 times, twice with CSU Asesoft and once with West Petrom Arad, before dying in a tragic car accident, in 2005.

• Constantin Popa - After debuting in Divizia A for BC Dinamo Bucureşti, went overseas to play for the University of Miami in the NCAA Division 1, becoming the tallest player ever in the history of the school. Drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1995 NBA Draft, he never played in the NBA, but had a successful career in the CBA, before returning to Europe.

Teams for 2010–11 season

Winners by season

See also

• Romanian Women's Basketball League

External links

• Official site of the Romanian basketball federation
• Halfcourt.info (Romanian and English)
• Numaibaschet.ro (Romanian)