The Austrian Basketball Superliga (English: Basketball Super League) is the highest tier basketball league in Austria. Established in 2019, it replaced the Austrian Basketball Bundesliga (ABL) as the first level competition in the country. The winners of the Superliga are crowned Austrian champions. The competition aimed to start "a new era" in Austrian basketball.[1] In its inaugural season, the competition consisted of ten teams.
 | |
| Organising body | Basketball Austria |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| First season | 2019–20 |
| Country | Austria |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Basketball Zweite Liga |
| Domestic cup(s) | Austrian Cup |
| Supercup | Austrian Supercup |
| International cup(s) | Basketball Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions | Swans Gmunden (2nd league title; 6th Austrian title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Swans Gmunden (2 titles) |
| TV partners | Sky Sport ORF |
 2023–24 Austrian Basketball Superliga | |
History
editThe Basketball Superliga was established in the summer of 2019 to replace the Austrian Bundsliga. Television contracts were signed with Sky Sport and ORF.[2] All games will also be streamed online. On 9 August 2019, the ten teams that would compete in the inaugural season were announced, with nine teams coming from last ÖBL season.[3]
The new league's first season was ended prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
On 16 May 2021, Swans Gmunden won the first Superliga championship.[5]
Format
editIn the Superliga, teams first play each other in the regular season home and away. After this the teams ranked 1–6 and 7-10 are divided in two groups to qualify for the playoffs. In the playoffs, the best eight teams play each other for the national championship in best-of-five series. The two lowest placed teams play against the top two teams of the Basketball Zweite Liga (B2L).[1]
Clubs
edit| Club | Place | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allianz Swans Gmunden | Gmunden | Volksbank Arena | 2,200 |
| Kraftwerk Wels | Wels | Raiffeisen Arena | 1,700 |
| Raiffeisen Panthers Fürstenfeld | Fürstenfeld | Stadthalle Fürstenfeld | 1,200 |
| Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions | Traiskirchen | Lions Dome | 1,200 |
| Kapfenberg Bulls | Kapfenberg | Sporthalle Walfersam | 1,000 |
| Zepter Vienna | Wien | Admiral Dome | 1,500 |
| redwell Gunners Oberwart | Oberwart | Sporthalle Oberwart | 1,700 |
| Xion Dukes Klosterneuburg | Klosterneuburg | Happyland Klosterneuburg | 1,000 |
| Raiffeisen Graz | Graz | Raiffeisen Sportpark Graz | 3,000 |
| SKN St. Pölten | Sankt Pölten | Landessportzentrum | 1,000 |
Champions
edit| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Swans Gmunden | Kapfenberg Bulls | 3–1
|
| 2021–22 | BC Vienna | Swans Gmunden | 3–1
|
| 2022–23 | Swans Gmunden | BC Vienna | 3–1
|
References
edit- ^ a b "Startschuss für die ADMIRAL Basketball Superliga - mit ADMIRAL Sportwetten als Hauptsponsor". OTS.at. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Basketball-Superliga: Sky überträgt bis zu 48 Spiele, auch ORF an Bord - derStandard.at". DER STANDARD. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Keine Lizenz für die Fürstenfeld Panthers". Sky Sport Austria. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Presstige Details ALLE". Basketball Austria. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ Berger, Helmut. "Presstige Details BSL". Basketball Austria (in Austrian German). Retrieved 12 July 2021.