Donar (basketball club)

Donar
Leagues	Dutch Basketball League, FIBA Europe Cup
Founded	1951
History	See Names
Stadium	MartiniPlaza
Capacity	4,310
Location	Groningen, Netherlands
Team colors	White, Blue (original), Navy
Head coach	Erik Braal
Championships	4 Dutch Championships 4 Dutch Cups 1 Dutch Supercup
Retired numbers	1 (10)
Website	www.donar.nl
Uniforms
Home Away

MartiniPlaza, home arena of Donar

Home game of Donar as GasTerra Flames in 2010

Donar is a professional basketball club based in Groningen, Netherlands. The club competes in the Dutch Basketball League (DBL) and its home arena is MartiniPlaza, which has a seating capacity of 4,310 people. For sponsorship reasons the club was known as "GasTerra Flames" till 2014.

Donar is one of the traditional first division clubs along with Den Bosch, as it entered the league 46 years ago. The club did win the national championship four times; in 1982, 2004, 2010 and 2014. Donar was runner-up in three seasons: 1998, 2006 and 2011. There are also four NBB Cups – the domestic cup competition – in the honor list of Donar; they won the cup in 2005, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

Donar has the most fans in the Netherlands, the club has somewhere around 1300 season ticket holders and sells the MartiniPlaza – which has a capcity of 4,310 – out on a regular basis in the Playoffs.^[1]

History

In 1881, gymnastics club Wodan and fencing club Mars, both part of the student corps Vindicat, merged to form GSSV Donar. In 1951 the basketball department of this club was founded. In 1970 the club promoted to the highest basketball league.

In 1973 the club separated from Vindicat and got their first sponsor, Nationale-Nederlanden. This allowed the team to play in the much bigger Martinihal "Events hall". On September 20, 1980, Donar won against BOB Oud-Beijerland with a score of 158-58. The score of 158 was repeated that same season against the same team (158-82) and never since. The difference of 100 points has never been repeated.

After the first championship in 1982, Nationale Nederlanden announced to stop as sponsor. After one year of playing under their name, Donar was demoted to the rayon league. Donar became champion that year and promoted to the promotion league. In 1986, Donar returned to the highest league; where they remained ever since. On February 1, 1991, the Basketball Business Club (BBC) was founded. In 2000/2001, the Martinihal was remodeled to become Martiniplaza and home games were moved to the new sports hall in the complex. This hall was renovated in 2006 when new seating was placed.

2009–2014: Successful GasTerra years

In 2009 GasTerra became the main sponsor of the club, that was renamed the GasTerra Flames.^[2] Head coach Marco van den Berg stayed and a whole new team was put together. In the 2009–10 season, Donar won the 3rd national championship in club history by beating West-Brabant Giants 4–1 in the Finals.^[3] Earlier, in the regular season, Flames finished in first place with a 33–3 record. The key players of the team were the Americans Matt Haryasz, Matt Bauscher, Jason Dourisseau and Robby Bostain.

The whole squad that won the 2010 title returned for the next season, except for Tim Blue. In 2010 they became the first Dutch basketball team to take part in the qualifying rounds of the new Euroleague.^[4] In the regular season Donar ended on the second place, while Jason Dourisseau was named the Dutch League MVP. The team won a second NBB Cup in 2011, after beating WCAA Giants^[5] The team did eventually lost in the DBL Finals to Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden 4–3 in an historic game 7 which included three overtimes.^[6]

Head coach Marco van den Berg left after the 2010–11 season and Hakim Salem, former ABC Amsterdam coach was acquired.^[7] The team brought experienced players to the team like David Bell and Alex Wesby but they couldn't meet the set expectations. In the cup competition, Flames was defeated in the quarterfinals and in the DBL semifinals it lost to EiffelTowers Den Bosch.

During the 2012–13 season Hakim Salem was fired and the Croatian coach Ivica Skelin was acquired.^[8][9] Despite the coaching change, team was still swept 3–0 by Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden in the DBL semifinals.

Before the 2013–14 season it was announced that GasTerra's sponsor contract ended after the season.^[10] Flames acquired Dutch top players Arvin Slagter and Ross Bekkering from defending champion ZZ Leiden and three new Americans were added to the team. On March 30, 2014 Flames won the NBB Cup by beating Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden 79–71.^[11]

In the 2014 Playoffs Flames beat BC Apollo easily in the quarterfinals (2–0) and later beat ZZ Leiden after a tough series (3–2). On June 1, 2014 Donar won its 4th national title. They beat SPM Shoeters Den Bosch 76–68 in game 7 of the Finals series.^[12]

2014–present: Donar

In the 2014 offseason, the club announced that in the previous season, a deficit of €135,000 had arisen after mistakes made regarding the budget.^[13] Therefore, the club had to cut into costs for the 2014–15 season and the budet was reduced. For the 2014–15 season, the club is known again as Donar.^[14] The team won the Supercup against Leiden and the NBB Cup Final against Den Bosch, the DBL Finals were lost 4–1 against Den Bosch.

In the 2015 offseason, Ivica Skelin left the club and was replaced by Erik Braal. In July 2015, former league MVP Jason Dourisseau returned to Donar.^[15]

Club identity

Names

The club has a rich history of names, mainly because of the different main sponsors of the team. One of the former names, Donar, is still widely used by the fans.

• 1951 - 1973 : GSSV Donar
• 1973 - 1983 : Nationale-Nederlanden Donar
• 1983 - 1986 : GBV Donar
• 1986 - 1989 : Ahrend Donar
• 1989 - 1993 : VGNN Donar
• 1993 - 1995 : RZG Donar
• 1995 - 1996 : Celeritas/Donar
• 1996 - 1999 : RZG Donar
• 1999 - 2003 : MPC Donar
• 2003 - 2006 : MPC Capitals
• 2006 - 2009 : Hanzevast Capitals
• 2009 - 2014 : GasTerra Flames
• 2014 - now : Donar

Logos

• 

  MPC Capitals logo (2003–2006)

• 

  Hanzevast Capitals logo (2006–2009)

• 

  GasTerra Flames logo (2009–2014)

Uniforms

1981–82

2005–06

2006–07

2009–14

2009–14

Players

Current roster

For a listing of past rosters, see Donar past rosters.

Donar roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. G 1 Cunningham, Sean 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) PG 34 Jeter, Lance (I) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) G 3 Sullivan, Will (I) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) SG 4 Samson, Skip (DP) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) PG 5 Hope, Dexter 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) SG 6 Nieboer, Niek (DP) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) SG 7 Franke, Yannick 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) SF 8 Dourisseau, Jason 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) PF 9 Veenstra, Bas 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) C 11 Bubnić, Dražen (I) 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) PF 12 Bekkering, Ross (C) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) F 20 Fieler, Chase (I) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Head coach Erik Braal Assistant coach(es) Anjo Mekel Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: January 6, 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Bench	Reserve
C	Ross Bekkering	Bas Veenstra
PF	Chase Fieler	Drazen Bubnic
SF	Jason Dourisseau	Tjoe de Paula	Niek Nieboer
SG	Will Sullivan	Sean Cunningham	Skip Samson
PG	Lance Jeter	Dexter Hope

• Denotes injured player.

Retired numbers

Donar retired numbers
N°	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure
10		Martin de Vries	SG	1979–1983, 1986–1990

Notable players

Arvin Slagter ◆ ◆ ◆ Martin de Vries ◆ ◆ Jason Dourisseau ◆ ◆ Lance Jeter ◆ ◆ Torey Thomas ◆ ◆ Thomas Koenis ◆ ◆ Jessey Voorn ◆ ◆ Kees Akerboom ◆ Yannick Franke ◆ Rogier Jansen ◆ Sean Cunningham ◆ Valmo Kriisa ◆ Julian Khazzouh ◆ Matt Bauscher ◆ Matt Haryasz ◆ Mark Sanchez ◆ Cashmere Wright ◆ Travis Reed ◆ Mack Tuck ◆ Dragutin Čermak ◆ Chris McGuthrie ◆ Notes ◆ Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time. ◆ Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club. ◆ To perform very successfully during period in the club or at later/previous stages of his career.

Trophies

• Dutch Championships (4):

1982, 2004, 2010, 2014

Runner-up: 1988, 2006, 2011, 2015

• Dutch Cups (4):

2005, 2011, 2014, 2015

Runner-up: 2000, 2007

• Dutch Supercup (1):

2014

Runner-up: 2011, 2015

Season by season

Season	Domestic competitions				Cup competitions		European competitions
	Tier	League	Pos.	Postseason	Cup	Supercup	Tier	League	Result
1970–71	1	Eredivisie	7	–	Preliminary round	N/A	N/A
1971–72	1	Eredivisie	10	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1972–73	1	Eredivisie	8	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1973–74	1	Eredivisie	6	–	Preliminary round	N/A	N/A
1974–75	1	Eredivisie	8	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1975–76	1	Eredivisie	7	–	Preliminary round	N/A	N/A
1976–77	1	Eredivisie	4	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1977–78	1	Eredivisie	2	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1978–79	1	Eredivisie	3	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1979–80	1	Eredivisie	4	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1980–81	1	Eredivisie	5	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1981–82	1	Eredivisie	2	Champion	N/A	N/A	N/A
1982–83	1	Eredivisie	4	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1983–86	Lower divisions
1986–87	1	Eredivisie	4	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1987–88	1	Eredivisie	7	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1988–89	1	Eredivisie	8	–	N/A	N/A	N/A
1989–90	1	Eredivisie	3	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1990–91	1	Eredivisie	5	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1991–92	1	Eredivisie	4	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
1992–93	1	Eredivisie	5	–	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
1993–94	1	Eredivisie	5	–	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A
1994–95	1	Eredivisie	4	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1995–96	1	Eredivisie	4	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A	N/A
1996–97	1	Eredivisie	2	Semifinalist	Runner–up	N/A	N/A
1997–98	1	Eredivisie	2	Runner–up	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A
1998–99	1	Eredivisie	6	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
1999–00	1	Eredivisie	3	Quarterfinalist	Runner–up	N/A	N/A
2000–01	1	Eredivisie	2	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
2001–02	1	Eredivisie	2	Quarterfinalist	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A
2002–03	1	Eredivisie	7	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
2003–04	1	Eredivisie	3	Champion	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A
2004–05	1	Eredivisie	1	Quarterfinalist	Champion	N/A	2	ULEB Cup	Regular season
2005–06	1	Eredivisie	3	Runner–up	Fourth round	N/A	3	FIBA EuroCup	Regular season
2006–07	1	Eredivisie	3	Quarterfinalist	Runner–up	N/A	N/A
2007–08	1	Eredivisie	5	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	2	ULEB Cup	Regular season
2008–09	1	Eredivisie	3	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	N/A	N/A
2009–10	1	Eredivisie	1	Champion	Semifinalist	N/A	N/A
2010–11	1	DBL	2	Runner–up	Champion	N/A	2	Eurocup	Regular season
2011–12	1	DBL	2	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	Runner–up	2	Eurocup	Regular season
2012–13	1	DBL	3	Semifinalist	Fourth round	N/A	N/A
2013–14	1	DBL	1	Champion	Champion	N/A	3	EuroChallenge	Regular season
2014–15	1	DBL	3	Runner-up	Champion	Champion	N/A

Individual awards

DBL Most Valuable Player David Lawrence – 1983 Jack Jennings – 1993 Donell Lee Thomas - 1998 Mack Tuck - 2002 Travis Reed - 2004 Jason Dourisseau - 2011 Arvin Slagter – 2014 Lance Jeter – 2015 DBL Playoffs MVP Arvin Slagter – 2014

DBL Coach of the Year Jim Parks - 1978 Jan Willem Jansen - 1991 Glen Pinas - 1995, 1996, 1997 Ivica Skelin – 2014, 2015 DBL Defensive Player of the Year Jason Dourisseau – 2013, 2014 DBL MVP Under 23 Thomas Koenis – 2012 Jessey Voorn – 2013

Supporters club

The current supporters club was founded on August 26, 1997 under the name Vikings, a nod to the Norse god Donar (Thor). After the club lost Donar from its name, this link became less clear. In 2010 it was decided to change the name of the supporters club to SV Donar (Supporters club Donar). The supporters club had 330 members as of the start of season 2010/2011.

Head coaches

Coach	From	To	Honours
Maarten van Gent	1980	1982	–
Ton Boot	2003	2007	1 Dutch League
Pep Clarós	2007	2008	–
Marco van den Berg	2008	2011	1 Dutch League, 1 NBB Cup
Hakim Salem	2011	2012	–
Ivica Skelin	2012	2015	1 Dutch League, 2 NBB Cups, 1 Supercup
Erik Braal	2015	Present	–

References

1. "Donar: "Een verslavingsgraad van 98 procent"". Worldbasketballnews.nl. 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
2. "Capitals wordt GasTerra Flames" (in Dutch). RTV Noord. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
3. "GasTerra Flames landskampioen". RTV Noord. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
4. "GasTerra Flames toegelaten tot voorronden Euroleague". GasTerra Flames (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-04-17.
5. "Basketbalbeker voor GasTerra Flames" (in Dutch). AD. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
6. "Basketballers ZZ Leiden kampioen". NOS. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
7. "Salem nieuwe coach GasTerra Flames". NOS (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-04-17.
8. "Coach Salem ontslagen bij Flames". NOS (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-04-17.
9. "Ivica Skelin nieuwe coach GasTerra Flames". GasTerra Flames (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-04-17.
10. "GasTerra stopt als hoofdsponsor Flames" (in Dutch). RTV Noord. 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
11. "GasTerra Flames verovert nationale beker". Basketball.nl. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
12. "Vierde landstitel voor GasTerra Flames". iBasketball. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
13. "Bericht van het bestuur: een vakantie-update » Donar" (in Dutch). Gasterraflames.nl. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
14. "Naam Donar terug in Martiniplaza". DBL.
15. Jason Dourisseau terug bij Donar

External links

• Official website (Dutch)