Liga Națională (men's basketball)
Current season, competition or edition: 2015–16 Liga Națională (men's basketball) | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1932 |
| CEO | Horia Păun |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Country |
 Romania |
| Continent |
 FIBA Europe |
| Most recent champion(s) | Asesoft Ploieşti |
| Most titles |
Dinamo Bucureşti (22 titles) |
| TV partner(s) |
Digi Sport TVR |
| Related competitions | Romanian Basketball Cup |
| Official website |
www |
The Liga Națională is the top-tier professional basketball league of Romania. There are 13 teams in men's Liga Națională.
The regular season begins in October and is played over a normal round-robin home-and-away basis. The first eight clubs qualify for the play-offs. The play-offs are played using the knock-out format. The quarter-finals, semifinals and finals use "best of five" series since 2014. The last two teams following the regular season are automatically relegated to the Division B.
History
The championship was founded in 1932. 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 seven times in a row from 2004–10 and again in 2012–2014. Asesoft is the only Romanian team who won a European competition, namely the FIBA EuroCup Challenge, in 2005.
Notable Liga Națională players
Romanian basketball had a bright past with three of its former players being inducted in the European Basketball Hall of Fame, as a recognition for their careers. They are:
- Gheorghe Mureșan – Signed in 1993 with the Washington Bullets, becoming the tallest player ever in the NBA. Played six successful seasons with the Bullets and the New Jersey Nets, averaging a career 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists. Named 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 three times, twice with Asesoft Ploiești 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 NCAA Division I, 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.
- Cătălin Burlacu – Played in the Italian, Estonian and German basketball leagues, but he also played in Romania at West Petrom Arad and Asesoft Ploiești.With Asesoft Ploiești he has won the championship from 2004 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2014 excluding the 2011 season.
- Levente Szijarto – Played all his career in the Romanian basketball league at West Petrom Arad, U Mobitelco Cluj and Asesoft Ploiești.With Asesoft Ploiești he has won the championship between 2003 and 2014 except the 2011 season in which U Mobitelco Cluj won the title.
Current season preview
The 2014–15 season has only 13 teams after Farul Constanţa, Știința București and CS Concordia Chiajna give up their place . Because of this situation one team will not play in every stage. Regarding the international competition Energia Rovinari, U BT Cluj and CSM Oradea will play in EuroChallenge Cup, and Asesoft Ploieşti will play in EuroCup. Also, SCM U Craiova will play in Balkanleague.
Current season teams
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC Mures | Târgu Mureș | Sala Sporturilor Târgu Mureş | 2000 |
| CSA Steaua București | București | Sala Mihai Viteazu | 300 |
| Asesoft Ploiești | Ploiești | Olimpia Sports Hall | 3500 |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | Mediaș | Sala Sporturilor Mediaș | 461 |
| U BT Cluj | Cluj Napoca | Sala Polivalentă | 7308 |
| BC Argeș Pitești | Pitești | Sala Sporturilor Trivale | 2000 |
| BC Timișoara | Timișoara | Constantin Jude Hall | 2200 |
| SCM Universitatea Craiova | Craiova | Sala Sporturilor Craiova | 4215 |
| CSM U Oradea | Oradea | Arena Antonio Alexe | 2000 |
| CSU Atlassib Sibiu | Sibiu | Sala Transilvania | 3000 |
| Timba Timișoara | Timișoara | Constantin Jude Hall | 2200 |
| Energia Rovinari | Târgu Jiu | Sala Sporturilor Târgu Jiu | 1500 |
| Universitatea Cluj | Cluj Napoca | Sala Polivalentă | 7308 |
Titles
| Club | Titles | Years winners |
|---|---|---|
| Dinamo București | 22 | 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003 |
| Steaua București | 21 | 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 |
| Asesoft Ploiești | 11 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Universitatea Cluj-Napoca | 4 | 1992, 1993, 1996, 2011 |
| Metalul București | 2 | 1951, 1952 |
| West Petrom Arad | 2 | 2001, 2002 |
| CSU Sibiu | 2 | 1995, 1999 |
| CSU Pitești | 1 | 2000 |
Latest finals
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | West Petrom Arad | Asesoft Ploiești | 3–0 |
| 2001–02 | West Petrom Arad | Dinamo București | 3–2 |
| 2002–03 | Dinamo București | West Petrom Arad | 3–2 |
| 2003–04 | Asesoft Ploiești | Dinamo București | 3–1 |
| 2004–05 | Asesoft Ploiești | Dinamo București | 3–1 |
| 2005–06 | Asesoft Ploiești | Universitatea Cluj-Napoca | 4–1 |
| 2006–07 | Asesoft Ploiești | Piteşti | 4–1 |
| 2007–08 | Asesoft Ploiești | Universitatea Cluj-Napoca | 4–3 |
| 2008–09 | Asesoft Ploiești | Timișoara | 4-0 |
| 2009–10 | Asesoft Ploiești | Universitatea Cluj-Napoca | 4–0 |
| 2010–11 | Universitatea Cluj-Napoca | Asesoft Ploiești | 4–2 |
| 2011–12 | Asesoft Ploiești | Timișoara | 4–0 |
| 2012–13 | Asesoft Ploiești | Mureș | 4–2 |
| 2013–14 | Asesoft Ploiești | Oradea | 3–2 |
| 2014–15 | Asesoft Ploiești | Mureș | 3–0 |
See also
External links
- 24secunde.ro (Romanian)
- TotalBaschet.ro (Romanian)
- Official site of the Romanian basketball federation
- Halfcourt.info (Romanian and English)
- Numaibaschet.ro (Romanian)
- Baschetromania.ro (Romanian)
- Romanian league on Eurobasket
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