Union of European Leagues of Basketball ( ULEB ; French : Union des Ligues Européennes de Basket-Ball ) is a sports organization within basketball created for growth of professional basketball in Europe. Its members are the professional basketball leagues organisations of 11 countries: Belgium , France , Germany , Greece , Israel , Italy , Lithuania , the Netherlands , Poland , Russia , and Spain .
14-727: The professional basketball organizing bodies of Italy , France and Spain established the ULEB on June 25, 1991 in Rome , Italy. In November 1992, a joint All-Star weekend was held in Madrid , Spain, featuring the most outstanding players from the Spanish and Italian Leagues. The experience was repeated one year later in Rome before a crowd of 10.500 fans. In 1994, the French League joined
28-442: A license to play in the league. There are three types of licenses: Since 2005, play-offs are played to decide which team is crowned the champion of each season. The finals series are played in a best-of-five format, with the team which had the higher seed in the regular season having home court advantage. Not all awards are official ones handed out by the league itself, but all are regarded and respected as BLB awards. As example
42-593: Is also a shareholder of Basketball Champions League SA . As written above, former Belgian player Tomas Van Den Spiegel is the current President of the ULEB, and Greek League President Vangelis Galatsopoulos is the current Vice President. The current Executive Committee of the Union is completed by the leagues of Belgium , France , Germany and Spain . Members of ULEB in 2022 : Former ULEB members: Lega Basket The Lega Basket A (officially: Lega Società di Pallacanestro Serie A , English : Basket League)
56-513: Is second, with 15. On 15 March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the season was prematurely cancelled. Based on the standings in the regular season, Filou Oostende was crowned national champions. The BLB is played by the international FIBA rules . Since 2014–15 the BLB season has a new format. In the regular season, all teams play each other first home and away. After that first round
70-704: Is the organizing body, as delegated by the Italian Basketball Federation , of the top division of Italian professional men's basketball league , the Serie A ( English : Basket League A Series). It is composed of the clubs that participate in the Lega Basket Serie A. It is headquartered in Bologna , Italy . Basket League is a founding member of ULEB . Basket League organizes the LBA ,
84-614: The Czech Republic , have been also members of the ULEB in the past, but all of them left the Union for different reasons. The Portuguese and Swiss leagues have ceased memberships, the Adriatic lost recognition from FIBA Europe , and the Austrian , British and Czech leagues voluntarily renounced their membership. ULEB is currently a shareholder of Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) through Euroleague Basketball SL , and
98-760: The Italian Cup , the Italian Supercup , and the Italian All Star Game . Discussions have been held as to the possibility of Basket League gaining more autonomy, similarly to that of the corresponding football organization, Lega Serie A . It is the sole professional sport league in Italy outside football. The current president of Basket League is Fernando Marino. Basket League was officially incorporated on May 27, 1970, in Milan , and included
112-632: The Union welcomed the British , Belgian and Swiss Leagues. A key date in ULEB and European basketball history was Friday June 9, 2000. That day, the most important clubs in Europe and the ULEB leagues, met in Sitges , and decided to create and manage a new competition, the EuroLeague . Until that moment, it had been FIBA that ran the men's top basketball clubs competition in Europe. The first game of
126-913: The clubs that participated in both the first division Serie A and the second division Serie A2 . On June 20, 2001, it changed to include just the first division Serie A clubs. Presidents of Basket League from 1970 to present. LBA ( Next Gen ) Serie A2 Basket Serie B Basket Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana LNP Cup Awards Stats Leaders Italian Clubs In Europe All Star Game Italian Men's National Basketball Team Italian Women's National Basketball Team M U-20 Team , M U-19 Team , M U-17 Team , M 3x3 Team W U-20 Team , W U-19 Team , W U-17 Team , W 3x3 Team Italian Basketball League System Italian Basketball Hall of Fame Teams & Players LegA Basket Femminile Serie A2 Serie B Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana Basketball League Belgium Division I The Pro Basketball League ( PBL ),
140-522: The event and the All Star weekend moved to Valencia , Spain, with Italian , Spanish and French stars competing and showing their skills. The Greek League was the first to join the three founders in 1996. The ULEB has had three Presidents since its inception: Gianluigi Porelli (since September 1991 until March 1998), Eduardo Portela , (since March 18, 1998 until October 6, 2016) and Tomas Van Den Spiegel , elected October 6, 2016. In December 1999,
154-465: The league is divided in two groups based on standings; in the first group teams ranked 1–6 play and in the second 7–11. After the split each team plays all others in its group once home and once away. After that the Playoffs are played by eight teams. The quarterfinals consist of best-of-three series and the semi- and finals are played in a best-of-five format. Teams that play in the BLB all have to get
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#1732771917378168-726: The league of Lithuania joined, and one year later, in July 2005, the union was expanded with the league of Israel . The most recent addition to the ULEB family is the Russian VTB United League , which was granted admission in July 2014, replacing its predecessor, the PBL (which had been admitted in May 2011). So, the ULEB currently represents a total number of 10 professional basketball leagues from across Europe. Other leagues such as Portugal , Adriatic , Austria , Switzerland and
182-588: The new EuroLeague , Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos , was played on October 16, 2000 in Madrid . One year later, in October 2001, the ULEB was expanded with the leagues of Germany , Netherlands and Poland . In October 2002, the ULEB Cup , the second-tier level European club competition, was born. Its first game was played in Istanbul , on October 15, 2002, between Darüşşafaka and Novo Mesto . In June 2003,
196-650: Was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for clubs . In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League . The league is organized by the Basketball League Belgium . The current president of the league is Maarten Bostyn. The most successful team in the league is Oostende , which holds the record for the most league titles won, with 22, and the now defunct team of Racing Mechelen
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