Almere Pioneers is a Dutch amateur

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km ...

. The team plays in the

Promotiedivisie The Promotiedivisie (English: Promotion Division) is the second tier of basketball in the Netherlands and is the highest amateur competition in the country. At the end of a Promotiedivisie-season, a Final Four is played to decide the new champion. ...

, the Dutch second tier league.

History

The club was founded in 1999 as a professional basketball club named BC Omniworld Almere and participated in the top-tier

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

. The team played its home games in the

Topsportcentrum Almere The Topsportcentrum is an indoor sports arena, located in Almere, Netherlands. Designed by architectural studio ZJA, it opened on the 7th of October in 2007. Its operator is the city of Almere and its main hall has a capacity of 3,000 people. The ...

. The 2002–03 season was the best season in Almere's history, as the team reached the Eredivisie finals. In these finals Omniworld lost 0–4 to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In January 2008, the team went bankrupt and was forced to leave the Eredivisie. A year later, the club changed its name to Almere Pioneers and started playing in the second-tier amateur league

. In 2013, Pioneers tried to make a comeback to the Eredivisie but failed due to a lack of budget. In 2020,

Almere Sailors Almere Sailors was a Dutch basketball club based in Almere. Established in 2020, the team played one season in the Dutch Basketball League (DBL), the highest level of basketball in the Netherlands. Home games are played in the Topsportcentrum Alm ...

was established by the Pioneers board. This separate professional club now plays at the highest level of Dutch basketball.

Season by season

Notable players

Ian Hanavan Ian Hanavan (born August 15, 1980) is an American-born Belgian retired basketball player and current coach. He last coached Phoenix Brussels. Standing at , Hanavan played as power forward. Professional career In October 2007, Hanavan signed with ...

(2003–2004) *

Rogier Jansen Rogier Jansen (born 29 August 1984) is a Dutch retired basketball player and current coach. Jansen has represented the Dutch national basketball team multiple times. Professional career On 2 July 2003 Jansen signed with Hanzevast Capitals - or Do ...

(2005–2006) *

John Turek John Turek (born February 19, 1983) is an American retired professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), Turek used to play as power forward or center. He played collegiately for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and continued his c ...

(2005–2006)

Head coaches

References

External links

Official website
(Dutch)
Eurobasket profile
{{Dutch Basketball League Basketball teams in the Netherlands Sports clubs in Almere Former Dutch Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1999 1999 establishments in the Netherlands