Club Baloncesto León was a basketball team, based in León, Spain.

History

Early years (1981-1988)

Baloncesto León was founded by José Antonio Moirón García, Enrique Emperador Marcos, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Villanueva, Lisardo Mourelo González and Alberto Sobrín Martínez in León on 20 May 1981. It began to play in ''Tercera División'', the fourth division of Spanish basketball. In 1981, the team was promoted to ''Segunda División''. After four years playing in the third tier, Baloncesto León was promoted to ''Primera División B'', the second division.

Aranzana's first era (1989-1997)

In the middle of the 1988-1989 season, the coach Mariano Parra was sacked because Baloncesto León was in

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

posts. Then Baloncesto León signed Gustavo Aranzana, the coach of ''Cajapalencia'', a team which was playing in Segunda División. Baloncesto León managed to leave relegation, and the next year, led by Xavi Fernández, was promoted to the ACB for first time in its history. Baloncesto León's years under Aranzana's leadership were the most successful in the history of the team. Both in the 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 seasons, Baloncesto León reached position six in ACB. In 1994 several things changed. The team changed the color of the T-shirt from yellow and green to red. Also, Xavi Fernandez transferred to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

. Finally, in 1997, Aranzana left the team.

Decline and relegation (1997-2000)

In 1997, Edu Torres was hired as coach. He left the team after two years of failing to enter the playoffs. In 1999-2000, the team, coached by José Luis Oliete, was the last team in the classification, so Baloncesto León was relegated to LEB.

LEB (since 2000) and Aranzana's second era (since 2005)

Since 2000, Baloncesto León has been playing in the second category of Spanish basketball. The team has come close to promotion on several occasions, but has not achieved it. After being coached by Roberto Herreras, Quino Salvo and Ángel Jareño, in 2005, Gustavo Aranzana was signed again as coach. In 2005–2006, Baloncesto León was, along with CAI Zaragoza, the highest-ranking team in the LEB regular season. In fact, Baloncesto León won the Regular Season. In the playoff, Baloncesto León easily defeated Palma Aqua Mágica and reached the semifinal round. Both final competitors of the semifinals get promoted. The rival was

Bruesa GBC Donosti Gipuzkoa Basket 2001 Saskibaloi Kirol Elkartea S.A.D., commonly known as Gipuzkoa Basket and as Acunsa GBC for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The team plays in the LEB Oro. ...

, 5th in regular season, which defeated Baloncesto León by 3-0. CAI Zaragoza did not get promoted. In 2006–2007 the team reached the second position in the end of the Regular Season. For first time in several years the team got a private sponsorship, Climalia. In the playoff, Baloncesto León defeated again Palma Aqua Mágica, (3-2). In the semifinals, they played versus

CAI Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is t ...

. León won the round 3–2, so, along with Ricoh Manresa got promoted to Liga ACB the 5/26/2007. In the 2007–2008 season, León made a very poor season and they were relegated again to LEB Oro after winning only eight of their 34 matches. Their most surprising winning was in Vitoria, against Tau Cerámica. After that season, León continues playing in the LEB League, where they reached the play-offs in the next two seasons with Javier de Grado as coach. After the 2011–2012 season the club ceased in activity and was dissolved. A new club was created to replace old Baloncesto León. It is called Fundación Baloncesto León and played its first season at Liga EBA.

Season by season

Trophies and awards

Trophies

* Copa Príncipe: (1) **2007 *

Copa Castilla y León The Copa de Castilla y León (Castile and León Cup) is a basketball competition between the best teams of Castile and León, organized by the Castile and León Basketball Federation. From 2002 to 2005, the different teams where facing them every ...

: (1) **2004

Individual awards

LEB Oro MVP *Michael Wilson – 2001

Notable players

Xavi Fernández Xavi Fernández (born 12 February 1968) is a Spanish basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 199 ...

* José Lasa * Essie Hollis *

Corny Thompson Cornelius Allen "Corny" Thompson (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'8" (203 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) power forward who occasionally also played the center position. Thomson was a mem ...

* Tate Decker *

Óscar Yebra Óscar Yebra Fernández (born 15 July 1974 in León) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He represented the Spanish national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπια� ...

Paolo Quinteros Paolo Alfredo Quinteros (born January 15, 1979 in Colón, Entre Ríos, Argentina) is an Argentine- Italian professional basketball player. He plays mainly at the shooting guard position, but he can also play at the point guard position. He is ...

Amal McCaskill Amal Omari McCaskill (born October 28, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player, at the center position. After a four-year career at Marquette University, McCaskill was selected by the National Basketball Association's Orlando ...

* J.R. Reid * Byron Houston

Notable coaches

* Gustavo Aranzana

List of coaches

* José Estrada 1980–1984 * Antonio Garrido 1984–1987 * José Clavijo 1987–1988 * Mariano Parra 1988–1989 * Gustavo Aranzana 1989–1997, 2005–2008 * Eduard Torres 1997–1999 * José Luis Oliete 1999–2000 * Roberto Herreras 2002 * Quino Salvo 2002–2003 * Angel Jareño 2003–2005 * Javier de Grado 2008–2012

External links

Baloncesto León Official WebsiteRetrato nº75: Baloncesto León
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon Defunct basketball teams in Spain Former LEB Oro teams Basketball teams in Castile and León Former Liga ACB teams Basketball teams established in 1981 1981 establishments in Spain Basketball teams disestablished in 2012 Sport in León, Spain