The Copa del Rey de Baloncesto (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: '' King's Cup of Basketball'') is an annual cup competition for

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 ...

teams organized by Spain's top professional league, 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, wi ...

History

Originally known as the ''Copa de España de Baloncesto'', was first played in 1933 and contested in its first editions only by teams from the provinces of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. It was the first nationwide basketball competition played in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. During the

Francoism Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, it was referred to as the ''Copa del Generalísimo de Baloncesto'', before becoming the ''Copa del Rey de Baloncesto'' in 1977.

Format

Until the establishment of the ACB in 1983, the Cup was played in its latest rounds with double-legged series and its final as a single game in a neutral venue. In several seasons, there was a group stage as first round. From 1983 and 1986, a Final Four format was adopted. The two best qualified teams from the two groups of the

at the end of the first stage qualified for the tournament. Since 1987, the tournament was expanded to a ''Final Eight'' format has been used. Since the league is played with a round-robin single group, the top seven teams at the end of the first half of the regular season from the Spanish League and the host one, if it is not between these teams, qualify for the tournament. The eight teams play a knockout tournament at one venue, over four days, eventually producing a winner. The ''Copa del Rey'' is one of the highlights of the Spanish sporting calendar.

Finals

Source: Copa de España
; Linguasport. In Spanish.

Titles by team

Notes

References

External links

Anécdotas en blanco y negro
. ACB.com (in Spanish)
Winners by yearSearch for historical results and statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copa del Rey Recurring sporting events established in 1933 1 1933 establishments in Spain