Racing Club Mechelen, or Racing Club Malines, was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

club from the city of

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, Belgium. It was the men's basketball section of

K.R.C. Mechelen K.R.C. Mechelen is a Belgian association football club from Mechelen in the Antwerp province. It is a long-time rival of KV Mechelen. The club's best position ever is a second place in the first division 1951–52. KRC Mechelen also reached th ...

. For sponsorship reasons, the club was also known as

Maes Pils Maes pils is a Belgian pils brewed by Alken-Maes. The beer was first produced in 1930 for Antwerp's Universal Exposition and called Prima Maezenbier. After Jupiler and Stella Artois, it is the third best-selling pilsner in Belgium. In 2008, ...

for a long time.

History

R.C. Mechelen folded and merged with Sobabee to create Racing Basket Antwerpen, in 1995.Antwerp Giants
/ref> Until it was dissolved, the club's senior team was the most successful Belgian basketball club, after having won a total of 15 Belgian national championships, 9 Belgian Cups, and 5 Belgian SuperCups.

Arena

R.C. Mechelen played its home games in

, at the Winketkaai arena.

Titles and honors

Domestic competitions

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 tea ...

: Champions (15): 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: Winners (9): 1963–64, 1964–65, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champio ...

: Winners (5): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994

European competitions

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

: Runners-up (1):

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

The Korac Cup
/ref>

In European and worldwide competitions

Notable players

* Jim Fox 1966–1967 *

Teófilo Cruz Teófilo "Teo" Cruz Downs (January 8, 1942 – August 30, 2005) was a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. After playing college basketball, Cruz played in Puerto Rico's top-level league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) wit ...

1969–1970 * Ronny Bayer 1985–1990 *

Éric Struelens Éric Struelens (born 3 November 1969) is a former Belgian professional basketball player. Professional career Struelens won the Belgian League championship 7 times (6 with Racing Mechelen and 1 with Spirou Charleroi) and the Belgian Cup 4 ti ...

1988–1995 * Bill Varner 1988–1995 *

Jacques Stas Jacques Stas (born 6 February 1969) is a Belgian professional basketball coach and former national team player. He is an assistant coach for Belgium's national basketball team.Rick Raivio 1985–1987 * Rik Samaey 1985–1990

References

Basketball teams established in 1940 Defunct basketball teams in Belgium Sports clubs disestablished in 1995

R.C. Mechelen (basketball) Racing Club Mechelen, or Racing Club Malines, was a Belgian professional basketball club from the city of Mechelen, Belgium. It was the men's basketball section of K.R.C. Mechelen. For sponsorship reasons, the club was also known as Maes Pils ...

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