Bàsquet Manresa,
S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional
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 ...
club based in
Manresa
Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa ...
, Spain. The team plays in the
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...
and
Basketball Champions League
The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Interconti ...
. Their home arena is the
Pavelló Nou Congost. Bàsquet Manresa has won the Spanish Championship once, in 1998.
Joan "Chichi" Creus is the team's most decorated player; he was the
Spanish Cup Most Valuable Player in 1996, and the
ACB Finals MVP two years later. Some others well known players that had played for Bàsquet Manresa are
Juan Domingo de la Cruz
Juan Domingo de la Cruz Fermanelli (born 6 February 1954) is an Argentinean-born Spanish basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Born in Buenos Aires, de la Cruz arrived t ...
, Roger Esteller,
Derrick Alston,
Serge Ibaka,
Andrés Nocioni
Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979) is an Argentine retired professional basketball player. He was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection before spending eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 2004 to 2012. No ...
,
Rolando Frazer
Rolando Frazer Thorne (born July 3, 1958 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He was an inaugural inductee of the ...
, and the
Basketball Hall of Famer
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...
George Gervin
George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...
, that at the age of 38 spent one year in the team, averaging 23.1 points and helping them to avoid the relegation from the Spanish top division.
History
Bàsquet Manresa was founded in 1931 with the name of Manresa Bàsquetbol Club and merged in 1934 with Club Bàsquet Bages for becoming Unió Manresana de Bàsquet. In 1940, the club wins the Copa Barcelona and integrates in
CE Manresa as its basketball section.
In 1968 the club promotes for the first time to the
Liga Nacional but is immediately relegated again in its
debut season. Two years later, Manresa played again in the top tier and ended the league in the fourth position, thus qualifying for the first time to play the
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir ...
, where it reached the quarterfinals.
In 1979 the club splits from CE Manresa and becomes Manresa Esportiu Bàsquet and grew up until becoming a usual contender in the
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...
. With the sponsorship of
TDK between 1985 and 2000, the club lived its best years. In 1992, as a professional club and according to the law, Manresa becomes a
Sociedad Anónima Deportiva
Sociedad anónima deportiva ("Public limited sports company") is a special type of public limited company in Spain. The new legal status was introduced in 1990http://www.csd.gob.es/csd/asociaciones/6SAD/ (Spanish) to improve financial management ...
and changes again its name to Bàsquet Manresa. This name change allowed Manresa EB and its former rival CB Manresa to merge definitively.
In 1996, Manresa wins its first national trophy by defeating
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
in the
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
played in
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
. Two years later, and after finishing the regular season in the sixth position and without the home-court advantage in any of the playoffs series, Manresa wins the
1997–98 Liga ACB after eliminating
Adecco Estudiantes in the quarterfinals and
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in the semifinals, for winning in
Tau Cerámica Baskonia 3–1 in the finals. As in the Copa del Rey won two years ago,
Joan Creus became the MVP of the finals. This achievement is nowadays considered on the biggest surprises in Spanish sport ever.
As league champions, Manresa played the
EuroLeague, but was eliminated in the group stage. The golden era of the club suddenly ended in 2000, after the relegation to
Liga LEB by losing in the do-or-die match against
Gijón Baloncesto, that ended 95–91 after an overtime.
Since its relegation, Manresa started to alternate seasons in ACB and LEB, with two league promotions in 2002 and 2007, as LEB champions. In 2012 and 2013, Manresa suffered two relegations in Liga ACB, but remained in the league due to the impossibility of LEB Oro teams to promote. In 2017, after registering the worst season in the top tier since the 1983–84 season, Manresa relegated to LEB Oro. However, the club achieved promotion just in the
next season after beating
Club Melilla Baloncesto
Club Melilla Baloncesto is a professional basketball team based in Melilla that plays in the LEB league. This is the only team in Spain that played all LEB seasons.
The team's home arena is the Pabellón Javier Imbroda Ortiz (formerly known as ...
in the final of the playoffs.
Sponsorship naming
Bàsquet Manresa has several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship:
Logos
File:Basquet-manresa.png, Non commercial logo
File:Basquet Manresa.png, 2002–2009
File:ICL Manresa logo.png, 2015–2018
File:Baxi Manresa logo.png, 2018–
Home arenas
*Pavelló Congost (1968–92), before 1968 the team played in not domed courts next to the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
stadium of Pujolet.
*
Pavelló Nou Congost (1992–present)
Players
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
rs
*
George Gervin
George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...
, SG, 1989–1990, Inducted 1996
Retired numbers
Current roster
Depth chart
Head coaches
Since 1967:
*Francesc Casé 1967–1968
*Josep Masseguer 1968–1969
*Jeroni Alberola 1969–1970
*Antoni Serra 1970–1977
*Alfonso Martínez 1977–1978
*Joan Martínez 1978
*Josep M. Soler 1978
*Jaume Berenguer 1978–1979
*Joan Basora 1979–1981
*Pere Guiu 1981
*Miguel López Abril 1981
*Jaume Ventura 1981–1984
*Germán González 1984
*Francesc Canellas 1984–1985
*Miquel Bataller 1985
*Juanito Jiménez 1985–1986
*Joan María Gavaldá 1986–1988
*
Flor Meléndez
Flor Meléndez Montañez (born January 12, 1947) is a Puerto Rican retired basketball player and current coach. He is a former head coach of Puerto Rico’s men’s national basketball team, Argentina men's national basketball team, and Panama ...
1988–1990
*
Ricard Casas 1990, 2001–2005
*
Pedro Martínez 1990–1994, 2014–2015, 2019–
*Salva Maldonado 1994–1997, 2000–2001
*
Luis Casimiro
Luis Casimiro Palomo Cárdenas, more known as simply Luis Casimiro, is a Spanish professional basketball coach, who is currently a coach for Coosur Real Betis of the Liga ACB.
Early years
Born in Villamayor de Calatrava, province of Ciudad Re ...
1997–1999
*Manel Comas 1999–2000
*Xavier García 2005
*Óscar Quintana 2005–2007
*Jaume Ponsarnau 2007–2013
*Borja Comenge 2013–2014
*Pere Romero 2014
*
Ibon Navarro
Ibon Navarro Pérez de Albéniz (born April 30, 1976, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava) is a Spanish basketball coach. He currently works for Unicaja of the Spanish Liga ACB.
Coaching career
Ibon Navarro has been a coach in the lower categories of Sas ...
2015–2017
*Aleix Duran 2017–2018
*Diego Ocampo 2018
*Joan Peñarroya 2018–2019
Season by season
Trophies and awards
Trophies
*
Spanish championships: (1)
**
1997–98
*
Spanish cups: (1)
**
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
* 2nd division championships: (1)
**
LEB Oro: (1)
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
*
Catalan basketball league
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #13 ...
s: (3)
** 1997, 1999, 2021
*
LEB Catalan basketball league The LEB Catalan basketball league is the 2nd-tier level regional professional preseason basketball competition that is organized by the Catalan Basketball Federation since 2000, in Catalonia, Spain. Catalan LEB ( Spanish 2nd Division) teams play ...
(Catalan 2nd Division Cup): (2)
** 2000, 2001
* Trofeu General Orgaz-Copa Ciutat de Barcelona: (1)
** 1940
Individual awards
ACB Finals MVP
*
Joan Creus – 1998
Spanish Cup MVP
*
Joan Creus – 1996
ACB Rising Star
*
Micah Downs – 2012
All-ACB Second Team
*
Dejan Musli
Dejan Musli ( sr-cyr, Дејан Мусли; born January 3, 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he plays at the center position.
Professional career
FMP
In the youth Musli won ...
– 2016
ACB Slam Dunk Champion
*
Nate Higgs – 2000
*
Serge Ibaka – 2008
ACB Three Point Shootout Champion
*
Sergiy Gladyr – 2010
LEB Oro MVP
*
Jordi Trias – 2018
Notable players
*
Joan Creus
*
Roger Grimau
*
Rafa Martínez
Rafael Martínez Aguilera (born 3 March 1982), known as Rafa Martínez, is a Spanish professional basketball player for Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB. He also represented the Spain national team internationally. He plays the shooting guard positi ...
*
Albert Oliver
*
Jordi Trias
*
Sergio Llull
Sergio Llull Melià (; born 15 November 1987) is a Spanish professional basketball player and the team captain for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He is a tall point guard and shooting guard.
Llull is a two−time A ...
*
Serge Ibaka
*
Juan Domingo de la Cruz
Juan Domingo de la Cruz Fermanelli (born 6 February 1954) is an Argentinean-born Spanish basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Born in Buenos Aires, de la Cruz arrived t ...
*
Juan Alberto Espil
*
Andrés Nocioni
Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979) is an Argentine retired professional basketball player. He was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection before spending eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 2004 to 2012. No ...
*
Juan Pablo Vaulet
*
Kieron Achara
Kieron Robert Nnamdi Achara MBE (born 3 July 1983) is a Scottish professional basketball player who last played for the Glasgow Rocks. He is a 6'10" (2.08 m) forward who played college basketball at Duquesne University and represented Scotland a ...
*
Ádám Hanga
Ádám Hanga (born 12 April 1989) is a Hungarian professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 59th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2011 NBA draft. Hanga won the EuroLeague Be ...
*
Siim-Sander Vene
*
Rolando Frazer
Rolando Frazer Thorne (born July 3, 1958 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He was an inaugural inductee of the ...
*
Marius Grigonis
*
Gabriel Lundberg
Gabriel Ifeanyi "Iffe" Lundberg (born 4 December 1994) is a Nigerian-Danish professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Danish national team. Standi ...
*
Chima Moneke
*
Ismaël Bako
*
Elias Valtonen
*
Dejan Musli
Dejan Musli ( sr-cyr, Дејан Мусли; born January 3, 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he plays at the center position.
Professional career
FMP
In the youth Musli won ...
*
Toby Bailey
John Garfield "Toby" Bailey (born November 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He is currently a sports agent.
College career
Bailey played four years of college basketball at UCLA, being part of the Bruins squad th ...
*
George Gervin
George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...
*
Granger Hall
*
Nate Higgs
*
Jeff Lamp
*
Scott Machado
Michael Scott Machado (born June 8, 1990) is an American-Brazilian professional basketball player for Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. He played college basketball for Iona College and represents the Brazilian national basketball team. ...
*
Linton Townes
*
Justin Doellman
*
Derrick Alston
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manresa
Catalan basketball teams
Liga ACB teams
Former LEB Oro teams
1931 establishments in Spain
Basketball teams established in 1931
Manresa