Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga
Encyclopedia
The Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga (OBL) (in English
: Austrian Basketball League (ABL)) is the top men's professional basketball
league in Austria
. Until the 2004–05 season, the league was known as the A-Liga (A-League) and then until the 2008–09 season it was called the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga (OBL). Since the 2008–09 season, it has been named the Admiral Basketball League, after the league's main sponsor, Admiral Sportwetten.
OBL teams are made up primarily of Austrian players. Every team carries some international players, mostly Americans.
The following teams are competing in the OBL for the 2007–08 season:
, pitting a team of the best Austrian players in the league against a team made up of the league's top international players. Like the NBA All-Star Game
, the OBL All-Star festivities include a slam dunk
contest and a three-point
shooting competition.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Austrian Basketball League (ABL)) is the top men's professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
league in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Until the 2004–05 season, the league was known as the A-Liga (A-League) and then until the 2008–09 season it was called the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga (OBL). Since the 2008–09 season, it has been named the Admiral Basketball League, after the league's main sponsor, Admiral Sportwetten.
Teams
OBL teams are made up primarily of Austrian players. Every team carries some international players, mostly Americans.
The following teams are competing in the OBL for the 2007–08 season:
- Allianz Swans GmundenAllianz Swans GmundenAllianz Swans Gmunden, also called Swans Gmunden is an Austrian professional basketball club, based in Gmunden. The home arena is Volksbank-Arena Gmunden.-Roster:- Starting Five :...
- Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions
- BasketClubs Vienna
- BSC Raiffeisen Panthers Fürstenfeld
- Kapfenberg BullsKapfenberg BullsKapfenberg Bulls is a basketball club based in Kapfenberg, which is a town in Styria, a state of Austria. Since 1991, the team plays in the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga, the highest Austrian professional basketball league. Between 2001 and 2004, the club had its most successful era with 4...
- kelag Wörthersee Piraten
- Oberwart Gunners
- UBC ökoStadt Güssing Knights
- UBC St.Pölten
- UBSC PBS Graz
- WBC Kraftwerk Wels
- Xion Dukes Klosterneuburg
Schedule
Each team plays the other 11 teams twice, creating a 22-game regular-season schedule. After that, the top eight teams move on, and play another double round robin. The four top teams after that move on to a best-of-five semifinals series, and the two semi-finals winners meet in a best-of-five championship series.Past Championships
| Year | Champion | Result | Runners-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Kapfenberg Bulls | 3–2 | kelag Wörthersee Piraten | |
| 2001–02 | Kapfenberg Bulls | 3–2 | BSC Raiffeisen Panthers Fürstenfeld | |
| 2002–03 | Kapfenberg Bulls | 3–2 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | |
| 2003–04 | Kapfenberg Bulls | 3–1 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | |
| 2004–05 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 3–0 | Macabido Gunners Oberwart | |
| 2005–06 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 3–0 | WBC Kraftwerk Wels | |
| 2006–07 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 3–0 | Macabido Gunners Oberwart | |
| 2007–08 | BSC Raiffeisen Panthers Fürstenfeld | 3–2 | Macabido Gunners Oberwart | |
| 2008–09 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 3–1 | WBC Kraftwerk Wels | |
| 2009–10 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 3–2 | BSC Raiffeisen Panthers Fürstenfeld | |
| 2010–11 | Oberwart Gunners | 3–2 | Allianz Swans Gmunden |
All-Star game
The OBL holds an annual all-star gameAll-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
, pitting a team of the best Austrian players in the league against a team made up of the league's top international players. Like the NBA All-Star Game
National Basketball Association All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference with the best players in the Western Conference....
, the OBL All-Star festivities include a slam dunk
Slam dunk
A slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
contest and a three-point
Three-point field goal
A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket...
shooting competition.