North European Basketball League
The North European Basketball League, or Northern European Basketball League (NEBL), was a short-lived regional professional basketball league. It was founded in 1998, by Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Dmitry Buriak. The league was the first commercial project of a regional league in Europe, and initially intended for participation of the best basketball teams from five countries - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Finland.
History
In 1999, the first North European Basketball League competition took place, involving eight teams, from the aforementioned countries. Eventually, the tournament started to lose its regional characteristics, as it began involving more clubs from Central (
By 2002, top clubs like
The NEBL would later be transformed (since 2004) into Baltic Basketball League (BBL), with basketball teams from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia participating in it.[citation needed]
Seasons
Season | Winner | Final score | Finalist | Total teams | Total countries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 (Promo) | Žalgiris Kaunas | 83–81 | ASK/Brocēni/LMT Riga | 8 | 5 |
2000 | CSKA Moscow | 95–77 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
14 | 9 |
2000–01 | Ural Great Perm |
88–81 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 16 | 12 |
2001–02 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
79–74 | Ural Great Perm |
31 | 19 |
2002–03 | UNICS Kazan | 93–90 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius |
4 | 3 |
See also
External links
- NEBL slogan: Break the ice! 20 April 2000 The Baltic Times.