Kataja Basket
Kataja Basket
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Wikipedia - Kataja BC
Kataja Basket Club is a professional basketball club of sports club Kataja from Joensuu, Finland. The team plays in the Korisliiga, the highest tier of Finnish basketball. In 2015, Kataja won its first national championship, after it beat Bisons Loimaa 3–2 in the Finnish Finals.
History
The basketball activity of the club started in 1955. In 1961, the team started playing in the Joensuu Sports Hall. The team started in provincial competitions, but quickly promoted to the national level in the 1960s. From 1976 till 1980, the team played continuously in the highest Finnish division. In the 2001–02 season, the team won its first trophy when it won the Finnish Cup. In 2015, the first championship of Kataja was realized after a 3–2 Finals series win against Bisons Loimaa. In the 2012–13 season, Kataja started participating in European competitions when it entered the EuroChallenge. The team immediately reached the quarterfinals of the competition, and has played in Europe every season since.
Kataja Basket mängib oma kodumänge Joensuu Areenil. Meeskonna peatreener on Hanno Möttölä ja kapten on Mikko Koivisto. Meeskonna koosseisus on mitmeid Soome koondislasi, sealhulgas Sasu Salin, Erik Murphy ja Topias Palmi.
Kataja Basket on osalenud ka Euroopa klubivõistlustel, sealhulgas FIBA Europe Cupis ja FIBA Challenge Cupis. Klubi on jõudnud FIBA Europe Cupi poolfinaali kahel korral, aastatel 2016 ja 2018.
Kataja Basket on Soome korvpallis oluline klubi ja tal on suur fännidebaas. Meeskond on tuntud oma kiire tempoga mängu ja tugeva kaitse poolest.