Saski Baskonia

Caja Laboral
Leagues ACB
Euroleague
Founded 1959
History C.D. Basconia
(1959–1983)
Caja Alava
(1983–1986)
Taugres Baskonia/Tau Ceramica Baskonia
(1986–2009)
Caja Laboral Baskonia
(2009–Present)
Arena Fernando Buesa Arena
(capacity: 9,900)
Location Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country
Team colors White, Red, Dark Blue
              
President Jose Antonio Querejeta
Head coach Duško Ivanović
Championships 3 Spanish Championships
6 Spanish Cups
4 Spanish Supercups
1 Saporta Cup
Website baskonia.com
Uniforms
Home
Away

Saski Baskonia, S.A.D., known as Caja Laboral for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish professional basketball club from the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The club's name sponsor is the Basque bank Caja Laboral.

Well-known players who have played with the club have included Velimir Perasović, Carlos Arroyo, José Calderón, Jorge Garbajosa, Wálter Herrmann, Andrés Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, Igor Rakočević, Luis Scola, Tiago Splitter and Roko Ukić.

Contents

Sponsorship naming

Outside of Spain, the club was often referred to for years as TAU Cerámica Baskonia, a Spanish brand name of ceramics manufacturer TAULELL, which name sponsored the club from 1986–2009. Originally, TAULELL used another of its brand names, Taugres, as the name of the team, before changing the name to TAU Cerámica Baskonia in 1997.[1] TAU, Baskonia and TAU Baskonia were also frequently used to refer to the team. Baskonia, Saski Baskonia, and Saski Baskonia, S.A.D. refer to the name of the actual sports club itself. In 2009, the Spanish bank Caja Laboral became the new name sponsor of the club[2][3] and increased the amount of money that the name sponsor contributes to the sports club's budget.

History

The club was founded in 1959 as the basketball section of Club Deportivo Vasconia. It first played at Spain's highest level in 1971, and emerged as a major force in Spanish basketball in the 1990s. Most recently, Baskonia advanced to the Euroleague Final Four in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2005 final and 2006 semifinals, to Panathinaikos in the 2007 semifinals, and to CSKA Moscow in the 2008 semifinals.

Through outstanding scouting and shrewd management, Baskonia has built a squad that has been to four straight Final Fours and now is looking to take the last step to becoming a Euroleague champion. Baskonia's first trophy of any kind came in 1995, the Spanish King's Cup, when Pablo Laso and Velimir Perasović led the team to an historical win. The club was already making noise internationally too, reaching the Saporta Cup final in both 1994 and 1995.

When it hosted the same title game in 1996, Baskonia pleased its many fans by downing PAOK behind 31 points from Ramón Rivas. Baskonia made its first Spanish Championship playoff final in 1998 and added a second Spanish King's Cup title in 1999.

They then found quick success in the newborn Euroleague. With a deep roster featuring Elmer Bennett, Saulius Štombergas, Victor Alexander, Fabricio Oberto and a young Luis Scola, Baskonia reached the 2000–01 Euroleague playoff final series before losing to Kinder Bologna in the fifth and final game on the road. With winning momentum and the additions of Dejan Tomašević and Andrés Nocioni, Baskonia celebrated the next season with another Spanish King's Cup trophy and its first Spanish League title ever. Trophy lifting became a habit now. Baskonia snatched two more Spanish King's Cups, in 2004 and 2006, as Luis Scola and Pablo Prigioni played decisive roles, and success followed the team in the Euroleague. Baskonia's arrival to its first Final Four in 2005 couldn’t have been louder, as the team upset favored host CSKA Moscow in the semifinals, but couldn’t overcome defending champ Maccabi in the title game.

Back home, Baskonia again reached the Spanish League finals, only to lose in dramatic fashion. Baskonia returned to theFinal Four in 2006 but once again Maccabi stood in its way, this time in the semifinal. The team also made it to the Spanish League finals, but was swept there.

The next season, Baskonia won its Euroleague regular season and Top 16 groups before sweeping Olympiacos in the Quarterfinal Playoffs as Scola became the Euroleague's top all-time scorer (counting games played since the year 2000 only). Nonetheless, eventual champion Panathinaikos downed Baskonia in the semifinals and once home again in Spain, Baskonia lost in the playoff semifinals. Coming so close, but walking away without any trophies is sure to make Baskonia as hungry as ever going forward.

With a solid track record for building some of the most competitive teams in the world, it is safe to say that Baskonia is always a top candidate for Euroleague greatness.

Players

Roster

Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
PG 4 Ribas, Pau 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 84 kg (185 lb) &1000000000000002400000024
PG 5 Prigioni, Pablo 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) &1000000000000003400000034
F/C 9 Dorsey, Joey 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 122 kg (269 lb) &1000000000000002800000028
F/C 11 Bjelica, Milko 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 102 kg (225 lb) &1000000000000002700000027
F/C 13 Seraphin, Kevin 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 125 kg (276 lb) &1000000000000002200000022
SF 19 San Emeterio, Fernando 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 105.4 kg (232 lb) &1000000000000002800000028
PG 22 Heurtel, Thomas 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) &1000000000000002200000022
SG 24 Oleson, Brad 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 90.5 kg (200 lb) &1000000000000002800000028
PF 33 Teletović, Mirza (C) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 111 kg (245 lb) &1000000000000002600000026
PF 42 Calbarro, Unai 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 107 kg (236 lb) &1000000000000002200000022
SF 44 Bjelica, Nemanja 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 104 kg (229 lb) &1000000000000002300000023
F/C -- Lampe, Maciej 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 125 kg (276 lb) &1000000000000002700000027
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • David Gil
  • Antonio Martorell

Legend
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: 2011-09-26

Depth Chart

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Reserve Inactive
C Vladimir Golubović Joey Dorsey Maciej Lampe
PF Mirza Teletović Milko Bjelica Unai Calbarro
SF Fernando San Emeterio Nemanja Bjelica
SG Brad Oleson Pau Ribas
PG Pablo Prigioni Thomas Heurtel

Out on Loan

Head coaches

Season by season

Season Tier Division Pos. Postseason Cup Competitions European Competitions
1969–70 3 3ª División 1 Promoted
1970–71 2 2ª División 2 Promotion playoffs
1971–72 2 2ª División 1 PromotedChampion
1972–73 1 1ª División 10 Copa del Rey semifinalist
1973–74 1 1ª División 8
1974–75 1 1ª División 8 Copa del Rey quarterfinalist
1975–76 1 1ª División 8
1976–77 1 1ª División 10
1977–78 1 1ª División 10
1978–79 1 1ª División 8 Copa del Rey semifinalist
1979–80 1 1ª División 11
1980–81 1 1ª División 14 Relegated
1981–82 2 1ª División B 2 Promoted
1982–83 1 1ª División 13
1983–84 1 Liga ACB 9 Round of 16
1984–85 1 Liga ACB 10 Round of 16
1985–86 1 Liga ACB 9 Round of 16 Copa Asociación champion Korać Cup quarterfinalist
1986–87 1 Liga ACB 8 Quarterfinalist
1987–88 1 Liga ACB 8 Quarterfinalist
1988–89 1 Liga ACB 7 Quarterfinalist
1989–90 1 Liga ACB 7 Quarterfinalist Copa del Rey quarterfinalist
1990–91 1 Liga ACB 4 Semifinalist Copa del Rey quarterfinalist
1991–92 1 Liga ACB 4 Semifinalist Copa del Rey quarterfinalist Korać Cup quarterfinalist
1992–93 1 Liga ACB 11 Round of 16 Copa del Rey semifinalist Played Korać Cup
1993–94 1 Liga ACB 11 Round of 16 Copa del Rey runner-up European Cup runner-up
1994–95 1 Liga ACB 5 Quarterfinalist Copa del Rey champion European Cup runner-up
1995–96 1 Liga ACB 8 Quarterfinalist European Cup champion
1996–97 1 Liga ACB 5 Quarterfinalist Played Korać Cup
1997–98 1 Liga ACB 2 Runner-up Copa del Rey quarterfinalist Played Korać Cup
1998–99 1 Liga ACB 5 Quarterfinalist Copa del Rey champion Played Euroleague
1999–00 1 Liga ACB 4 Semifinalist Copa del Rey quarterfinalist Played Saporta Cup
2000–01 1 Liga ACB 3 Semifinalist Copa del Rey quarterfinalist Euroleague runner-up
2001–02 1 Liga ACB 1 Champion Copa del Rey champion Played Euroleague
2002–03 1 Liga ACB 6 Quarterfinalist Copa del Rey semifinalist Played Euroleague
2003–04 1 Liga ACB 3 Semifinalist Copa del Rey champion Played Euroleague
2004–05 1 Liga ACB 2 Runner-up SC semifinalist, CR semifinalist Euroleague runner-up
2005–06 1 Liga ACB 2 Runner-up SC champion, CR champion Euroleague semifinalist3rd
2006–07 1 Liga ACB 3 Semifinalist SC champion, CR semifinalist Euroleague semifinalist4th
2007–08 1 Liga ACB 1 Champion SC champion, CR runner-up Euroleague semifinalist4th
2008–09 1 Liga ACB 2 Runner-up SC champion, CR champion Euroleague quarterfinalist
2009–10 1 Liga ACB 1 Champion SC semifinalist, CR semifinalist Euroleague quarterfinalist
2010–11 1 Liga ACB 4 Semifinalist SC semifinalist, CR semifinalist Euroleague quarterfinalist
2011–12 1 Liga ACB SC runner-up, CR Played Euroleague

Honors

Trophies

Individual awards

Notable players

Matches against NBA teams

14 October 2010 Boxscore Memphis Grizzlies 110–105 Caja Laboral    FedExForum, Memphis, TN
16 October 2010 Boxscore San Antonio Spurs 108–85 Caja Laboral    AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

Notes and references

External links