Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German

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 based in

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every summer and has a hi ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. The club plays in the

ProA Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the do ...

, the second tier of 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Founded in 1979, the club spent the majority of its history in the lower-tier German leagues. In 2012, the team promoted to the second-tier

and ever since it has been balancing between relegation from the BBL and promotion from ProA.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 26 June 1979 as the basketball team of the Antonianum Gymnasium, with former students playing in the team. The name of the club, "Rasta", is a tribute to

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

music because

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's '' Rastaman Vibration'' was playing when the name was decided.

Recent years

In the 2012–13 season, Vechta won the German second-tier

after beating

Gloria Giants Düsseldorf Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

in the finals. This season, they entered their new home arena, the Rasta Dome. After winning the ProA in its first season in the new arena, Vechta was promoted to the first-tier

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL seaso ...

(BBL). In 2013, the arena, which had an original capacity of 2,000 spectators, was expanded to accommodate 3,140 fans in order to meet minimum size requirements for the Basketball Bundesliga. However, the team finished last in the 2013–14 season and were immediately relegated back to the ProA. In the 2015–16 season, Rasta once again promoted to the Bundesliga. Just like the previous BBL adventure, the team would relegate again in its first season back.

National playoffs and European debut (2018–2020)

In April 2018, Vechta promoted to the BBL for the third time, after defeating

PS Karlsruhe Lions PS Karlsruhe Lions is a German professional basketball team located in Karlsruhe. The team competes in Germany's ProA league, the country's second division. In 2017, the team promoted from the third tier ProB to the second tier.2018–19 Basketball Bundesliga The 2018–19 Basketball Bundesliga, known as the easyCredit BBL for sponsorship reasons, was the 53rd season of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the top-tier level of professional club basketball in Germany. Bayern Munich defended their title b ...

, Vechta had an incredible season under Spanish head coach

Pedro Calles Pedro Calles (born 24 August 1983) is a Spanish basketball coach who is the current head coach of the EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Born in Córdoba, he has coached in both Spain and Germany since 2010. Career After growing up in Córdoba, Calles gr ...

. Vechta claimed the fourth place in the regular season to advance to the BBL playoffs for the first time in club history. In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, it eliminated Brose Bamberg with a 3–1 score. In the semi-finals, Vechta was swept by title favorites Bayern Munich. In the 2019–20 season, Rasta made its debut in Europe as it qualified for a spot in the Basketball Champions League (BCL). In Group B, the German team finished in the 5th place.

Honours

**Winners:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2017–18 ***Runner-up: 2015–16

Players

Current roster

Notable players

* Austin Hollins (born 1991), American basketball player for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball ...

* Ike Iroegbu (born 1995), American-born Nigerian basketball player for the Hapoel Galil Elyon of the

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. ...

, American-Brazilian * Ish Wainright (born 1994), American-born Ugandan basketball player for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

Season by season

European record

Head coaches

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vechta, Rasta Basketball teams established in 1979 Basketball clubs in Lower Saxony Vechta (district) 1979 establishments in West Germany