WABA League, commonly known as the Adriatic League, is a top-level regional basketball league, featuring female teams from Serbia, Montenegro, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia. Clubs from Turkey, North Macedonia, Hungary and Italy had their representatives in WABA League in past seasons. Since 2012 a Cadet WABA League and since 2014 Pionir WABA League is also played.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 WABA League | |
 Official logo of the WABA League | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| First season | 2001–02 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country |  Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Montenegro Serbia Slovenia |
| Continent | FIBA Europe |
| Most recent champion(s) | Cinkarna Celje (4th title) |
| Most titles | Šibenik (5 titles) |
| Official website | waba-league.com |
History edit
Formation and early years edit
WABA League was established in 2001 as EWWL League. In its first season, it included six teams from four countries (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). After the regular season, it held a tournament in which the three best teams played, which was won by Athlete Celje. Next season, the league expanded from six to eight teams, and the final tournament was altered so that the placement included the four top teams. At the final tournament, the winner was Željezničar Sarajevo.
In 2003, the league changed its name to EWWL Trocal League, which lasted until 2006. During these seasons, the number of teams who played in the league varied from nine to twelve. In the period from 2004 to 2006, it had a representative from Macedonia and then one from Bulgaria in the 2006–07 season. Austrian clubs left the competition in 2004. Since 2003, the competing teams have been from Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, the league changed its name to WABA NBL which was used until 2008. In 2006, the WABA Cup launched, which existed until 2010 and was attended by participants in the league. In 2007, the WABA Cup bore the name Vojko Herskel. In the 2008–09 season, the league was named after WABA Multipover; in 2009–10 season, it was named IWBL.
2010s edit
In 2010, the league changed its name to MŽRKL. The Vojko Herksel Cup was last played. In the 2012–13 season, the league included the Hungarian PEAC-Pécs, and the Belgrade Partizan achieved a record in its history, playing 32 matches in the national competitions (regional league, championship and cup) all season without suffering a defeat. In the season of 2013–14, the format of the competition changed. The twelve participating teams were divided into two groups of six teams. Four first-placed teams were placed in the quarterfinals, with the winners to the Final Four.
In the 2015-16 season, the league introduced instead of quarterfinals League 6, in which the first phase the two groups are placed by 3 teams. The League 6 transmitted the results achieved against teams from the same group in the first phase they finished the League 6. League 6 plays a dual circuit system (one game at home and one away) against teams that have qualified from the opposite group previous stage of the competition. The four best teams in League 6 advance to the Final Four.
In September 2016, the league officially changed its name to WABA League.[1] In June 2017, the league signed a sponsorship contract with tourist agency BTravel and officially changed its name to BTravel WABA League.[2]
Names in history edit
- EWWL League (2001–2003)
- EWWL Trocal League (2003–2006)
- WABA NBL (2006–2008)
- WABA Multipower (2008–2009)
- IWBL (2009–2010)
- MŽRKL (2010–2016)
- WABA League (2016–present)
Logos edit
| Evolution of the Adriatic League logo | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2010 | 2010–2016 | 2016–2017 | 2017–2018 | 2018–present | ||||
| n/a | 
|
without a logo |
|
n/a | ||||
Youth competition edit
Cadet WABA League edit
In the season 2012–13, the Cadet League was launched, and since it has shown a lot of success in that period, it has continued to be held.[3] The winner of the first two seasons of cadet WABA League is the team Trešnjevka 2009 from Croatia, when he beat the team of Novi Zagreb[4] and Crvena zvezda.[5] In the third seasonis the champion was the team of Triglav Kranj, Slovenia, which is defeated in the final match of Maribor.[6]
Pionir WABA League edit
Following the success of cadet league, a decision was made to launch the pioneering leagues.[7] In the first season, the winner of the pioneering league is team Croatia 2006 from Zagreb, Croatia, that won at the team of Jedinstvo Tuzla from Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[8]
Finals edit
Champions edit
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Šibenik
|
5
|
5
|
2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 |
| Cinkarna Celje
|
4
|
2
|
2002, 2017, 2022, 2023 | 2018, 2020 |
| Budućnost Podgorica
|
3
|
4
|
2016, 2018, 2020 | 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Gospić
|
2
|
3
|
2004, 2010 | 2005, 2008, 2011 |
| Beroe
|
2
|
1
|
2019, 2021 | 2017 |
| Partizan
|
2
|
–
|
2012, 2013 | – |
| Radivoj Korać
|
1
|
2
|
2014 | 2013, 2015 |
| Željezničar Sarajevo
|
1
|
–
|
2003 | – |
| CSKA Sofia
|
1
|
–
|
2007 | – |
 Umana Reyer Venezia
|
1
|
–
|
2015 | – |
| Vojvodina
|
–
|
1
|
– | 2006 |
| Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje
|
–
|
1
|
– | 2009 |
| Čelik Zenica
|
–
|
1
|
– | 2012 |
| Crvena zvezda
|
–
|
1
|
– | 2014 |
| Medveščak
|
–
|
1
|
– | 2016 |
Notable person's edit
Former players edit
Former coaches edit
Awards edit
Sponsors edit
- Title sponsor
- BTravel (Croatian tourist agency) (June 2017 - 2018)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ "Igra i Kraljevo, sutra žreb, sponzor i novo ime lige". 29 June 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "MŽRKL - Međunarodna ženska regionalna košarkaška liga". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
External links edit
- Official website
- Profile at Eurobasket.com