Liga Națională (men's basketball)

Liga Națională

Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 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.frbaschet.ro (Romanian)

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

Asesoft

BC Timișoara
Timba Timișoara

Steaua

"U Cluj

U BT Cluj

CSU Craiova

Gaz Metan

CSM U Oradea

Pitești

CSU Sibiu

Energia

BC Mureș

2014–15 Liga Națională club locations

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-Napoca	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
CSM Oradea	1	2016

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
2015–16	CSM Oradea	Mureș	3–2

See also

• Romanian Women's Basketball League

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