S.L. Benfica (basketball)

Benfica
Leagues	Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, FIBA Europe Cup
Founded	20 March 1927 (1927-03-20)[1]
History	S.L. Benfica (1927–present)
Arena	Pavilhão Fidelidade
Arena Capacity	2,400
Location	Lisbon, Portugal
Team colors	Red, White, Black
President	José Tomaz
Head coach	Carlos Lisboa
Championships	26 Portuguese Leagues 21 Portuguese Cups
Website	slbenfica.pt
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate

Active departments of Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Football	Football B	Football U-19
Futsal	Roller hockey	Basketball
Handball	Volleyball	Athletics
Swimming	Rugby union	Table tennis
Billiards	Canoeing

Sport Lisboa e Benfica is a professional basketball team based in Lisbon, Portugal, who play in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB), although in June 2007 the team decided to leave the professional top league, then known as LCB, and join the Proliga,^[2] a league organized by the Portuguese Basketball Federation. From 2008 onwards, they returned to the LPB after the federation took over the realms of competition.

Founded in 1927, Benfica is the most successful Portuguese club, having the record for most championships, cups, league cups, super cups, and other national competitions, with a total of 76 domestic titles. It is also the Portuguese team that advanced the furthest in the European top club basketball championship, now known as the Euroleague.

Some of their most memorable moments were when they won European clashes against the likes of European clubs which have won the Euroleague, such as Buckler Bologna, Real Madrid, Cantù, Cibona, Joventut Badalona, Panathinaikos, Partizan, or CSKA Moscow.^{[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} Despite basketball not being nearly as popular as football among the Portuguese population, Benfica has a major rivalry with FC Porto in this sport. (The rivalry was interrupted in 2012 and resumed in 2015.)

Along with its several junior teams that play in their respective top division championships, Benfica also has a developmental basketball team, Benfica B, that plays in the Proliga, the second highest tier in Portuguese basketball, after the LPB in which the main team competes.^[11]

History

Early years

Created on 20 March 1927,^[1] the basketball team followed the steps of many other sports that were supported by the club, achieving great success almost immediately. The team established itself as a main contender by the 1940s and during the whole 1960s gained the status of championship favourite and was already the club with the most titles won. By this time the club had won eight national championships and eight cups. This dominating spell decreased the following decade until the early 1980s. In this time-span Benfica could only win two championships, in the 1969–70 and the 1974–75 season, but won four national cups, the second most prestigious Portuguese tournament, in 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1973–74. After these years, Benfica again dominated the national scene.

Golden years

The most successful period of the club was between 1985 and 1995. In eleven seasons, the team won ten national titles, seven of which in a row, five national cups, five league cups and six super cups, achieving the best season ever by a Portuguese basketball team in 1994–95 winning the Portuguese League, Portuguese League Cup, Portuguese Super Cup, Portuguese Basketball Cup and finishing the European Champions' Cup in the Top 16. One of the highlight from that European Champions' Cup season was a 22-point victory (102–80) against CSKA Moscow in Lisbon on 12 January 1995.^[10] Benfica also made successful international campaigns in the other seasons considering the budget the team had compared with other European big teams. Some of the most successful of those campaigns include the 1993–94, when Benfica was close to reach the Top 8,^[12] and for a third season in a row Benfica managed to reach the Top 16 again in the European Champions' Cup, in 1995–96, grabbing a win against Panathinaikos, the eventual champions.^[13][8]

Decline in the late 1990s

This period was followed by a dark era in which Benfica was internally overshadowed by Ovarense, Portugal Telecom and FC Porto. Even though this period is considered to be a dark one, Benfica did manage to reach the LPB final once as well as winning Super Cups and finishing runners-up in the national cup and in the league cup. Also noteworthy is an away win against Real Madrid, in the 1996–97 EuroCup, the same season the Spaniards won the competition.^[4] The team finally decided to withdraw from the top tier and applied for the second league, the Proliga,^[2] which was the highest division run by the Federação Portuguesa de Basquetebol. However the first division was folded and the LPB was again being overviewed by the national federation. This allowed the team to make a comeback to the main league.

Revival in the late 2000s

After more than a decade without any titles and in the same season Benfica had made a return to the first league, the 2008–09 season, the team won the Portuguese League, with a perfect score of 100% wins during the regular season, becoming the second team in the world to do so, after Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1970s, and thrashing Ovarense 4–0 in the best-of-four game final. Benfica won the championship again the following season with a 91% winning record in the regular stage and a 4–1 final against Porto. The recent success brought the team to participate in the EuroChallenge, thus marking the end of a mid-term long hiatus from Portuguese clubs in European basketball competitions. The following year, Benfica won the League Cup and the Super Cup but did not renew the championship as it lost 4–3 in the final to Porto.

Recent years

In the next season Benfica regained the title of Portuguese champion after defeating Porto in their home court Dragão Caixa (53–56) in the last best-of-five series game following a 2–2 playoff tie. Benfica retained the title the following season, having only lost two games, one in the regular season, and the other in the play-off final, which they won 3–1 against Académica de Coimbra, both defeats coming only in overtime. Overall Benfica won every title except the Cup, losing against Vitória de Guimarães in the final, amassing only three losses in the entire season in all competitions. On 23 May 2014, Benfica defeated Vitória de Guimarães (3–0) and conquered its 25th champions title (third consecutive), completing the domestic treble of League, Portuguese Cup and Hugo dos Santos Cup. In this season they won a total of 4 titles (including the 2013 Super Cup).

In the 2014–15 season, Benfica returned to the European competitions, playing in EuroChallenge where they finished in third place of Group E. At domestic level, Benfica won all the five competitions.^[14][15]

Starting the 2015–16 season, they won their fifth and fourth consecutive António Pratas Trophy, setting a club record of ten consecutive Portuguese trophies won.^[16]

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol: 26 (record)^[17]
  • 1939–40, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Taça de Portugal: 21 (record)^[17]
  • 1945–46, 1946–47, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1980–81, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Taça da Liga / Hugo dos Santos: 10 (record)^[17]
  • 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Supertaça de Portugal: 13 (record)^[17]
  • 1985, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Troféu António Pratas LPB: 5 (record)^[17]
  • 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
• Troféu António Pratas Proliga: 1^[17]
  • 2007

International competitions

• Supertaça da Lusofonia: 1
  • 2010

Players

Current roster

S.L. Benfica roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age 1.0 !PG 5 USA ! Raivio, Derek 7000190000000000000♠1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb) 7001320000000000000♠32 – (1984-11-09)9 November 1984 2.0 !SG 6 ANG ! Morais, Carlos 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001910000000000000♠91 kg (201 lb) 7001310000000000000♠31 – (1985-10-16)16 October 1985 1.0 !PG 10 POR ! Fernandes, Mário 7000174000000000000♠1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) 7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb) 7001340000000000000♠34 – (1982-04-25)25 April 1982 1.0 !PG 11 POR ! Oliveira, Nuno 7000186000000000000♠1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb) 7001270000000000000♠27 – (1989-08-20)20 August 1989 4.0 !PF 12 MNE ! Loncovic, Marko 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 7001970000000000000♠97 kg (214 lb) 7001250000000000000♠25 – (1991-02-03)3 February 1991 3.0 !SF 17 POR ! Soares, João 7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 7001910000000000000♠91 kg (201 lb) 7001260000000000000♠26 – (1990-03-27)27 March 1990 3.0 !SF 18 SRB ! Stankovic, Velkjo 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 7001960000000000000♠96 kg (212 lb) 7001190000000000000♠19 – (1997-08-11)11 August 1997 1.0 !PG 21 POR ! Barroso, Tomás 7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb) 7001260000000000000♠26 – (1990-11-02)2 November 1990 3.0 !SF 23 POR ! Andrade, Carlos 7000197000000000000♠1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 7002109000000000000♠109 kg (240 lb) 7001380000000000000♠38 – (1978-04-27)27 April 1978 1.0 !PG 24 POR ! Monteiro, Ricardo 7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 7002112000000000000♠112 kg (247 lb) 7001190000000000000♠19 – (1997-02-13)13 February 1997 1.0 !PG 27 POR ! Silva, Sérgio 7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb) 7001200000000000000♠20 – (1996-03-05)5 March 1996 5.0 !C 35 USA ! Barber, Raven 7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 7002110000000000000♠110 kg (243 lb) 7001250000000000000♠25 – (1991-10-02)2 October 1991 1.0 !PG 57 SVN ! Slutej, Aljaz 7000192000000000000♠1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb) 7001200000000000000♠20 – (1996-01-09)9 January 1996 4.0 !PF 77 SUI ! Dos Santos, Nicolas 7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 7002107000000000000♠107 kg (236 lb) 7001290000000000000♠29 – (1987-04-10)10 April 1987 3.0 !SF 96 HUN ! Hollis, Damian 7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 7002102000000000000♠102 kg (225 lb) 7001280000000000000♠28 – (1988-08-19)19 August 1988	Head coach Carlos Lisboa Assistant coach(es) Nuno Ferreira Carlos Seixas Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 28 September 2016

Home arenas

• Pavilhão dos Desportos 1946–1965
• Pavilhão da Luz 1965–2003
• Pavilhão Fidelidade 2003–present

Results in European competitions

^[18]

Season	Competition	Round	Opposition	Score
1961–62	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Pallacanestro Varese	49–73 (H) 101–48 (A)
1962–63	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Real Madrid	61–97 (H) 110–47 (A)
1963–64	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round		Bye
		First round	Legia Warsaw	Withdrew
1965–66	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Wydad Casablanca	53–54 (A) 76–77 (H) 61–63 (N)
1966–67	FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup	Qualifying round	Joventut Badalona	107–38 (A) 57–118 (H)
1970–71	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Budapest Honvéd SE	67–112 (H) 118–66 (A)
1972–73	FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup	First qualifying round	Sutton Basket	76–77 (A) 77–71 (H)
		Second qualifying round	Antwerp BC	86–83 (H) 120–80 (A)
1973–74	FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup	Second qualifying round	Estudiantes Madrid	91–75 (H) 93–61 (A)
1981–82	FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup	First qualifying round	BBK Gent	81–83 (H) 101–81 (A)
1986–87	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Manchester United	91–67 (A) 87–79 (H)
1987–88	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	BBC Sparta Bertrange	122–77 (H) 84–108 (A)
		First round	Maccabi Tel Aviv	111–86 (A) 79–81 (H)
1988–89	FIBA Korać Cup	Qualifying round	Antwerp Giants	83–75 (A) 95–88 (H)
1989–90	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Olimpia Milano	99–112 (H) 92–73 (A)
1990–91	FIBA European Champions Cup	Qualifying round	Bayer Leverkusen	87–85 (H) 110–74 (A)
1991–92	FIBA European League	Preliminary round II	Olympique Antibes	89–76 (H) 88–74 (A)
1991–92	FIBA European Cup	Preliminary round III	Szolnoki Olaj	100–79 (H) 75–84 (A)
		Semi-final round Group B	Union Olimpija	91–88 (A) 47–84 (H)
			Panionios	89–77 (A) 88–76 (H)
			Hapoel Galil Elyon	79–74 (H) 78–95 (A)
			Real Madrid	75–78 (H) 102–79 (A)
			Pau-Orthez	89–80 (A) 79–90 (H)
1992–93	FIBA European League	Preliminary round I	Etzella Ettelbruck	72–113 (A) 105–58 (H)
		Preliminary round II	Maccabi Tel Aviv	75–89 (H) 100–81 (A)
1992–93	FIBA European Cup	Preliminary round III	CSKA Sofia	111–83 (H) 80–84 (A)
		Semi-final round Group B	Cholet Basket	82–98 (A) 84–73 (H)
			Split	60–70 (H) 79–56 (A)
			Aris	67–75 (H) 83–72 (A)
			Budivelnyk	79–77 (A) 88–75 (H)
			Hapoel Galil Elyon	74–93 (A) 73–80 (H)
1993–94	FIBA European League	Preliminary round I	Hapoel Tel Aviv	83–75 (A) 87–67 (H)
		Preliminary round II	Union Olimpija	87–63 (H) 91–76 (A)
		Semi-final round Group B	Panathinaikos	83–73 (A) 69–76 (H)
			Anadolu Efes	61–77 (H) 80–67 (A)
			Pallacanestro Cantù	75–64 (A) 83–64 (H)
			Virtus Bologna	102–90 (H) 97–57 (A)
			Cibona	67–66 (H) 75–63 (A)
			Joventut Badalona	76–79 (A) 78–89 (H)
			Pau-Orthez	72–80 (A) 72–74 (H)
1994–95	FIBA European League	Preliminary round II	Budapest Honvéd SE	85–94 (A) 96–89 (H)
		Semi-final round Group A	CSKA Moscow	103–61 (A) 102–80 (H)
			Union Olimpija	81–84 (H) 64–56 (A)
			PAOK	74–68 (A) 77–75 (H)
			Panathinaikos	49–67 (H) 80–60 (A)
			Real Madrid	70–54 (A) 62–66 (H)
			Victoria Pesaro	88–75 (A) 69–88 (H)
			Maccabi Tel Aviv	81–90 (H) 86–75 (A)
1995–96	FIBA European League	Preliminary round II	Partizan Belgrade	64–64 (A) 112–95 (H)
		Semi-final round Group B	Cibona	65–79 (H) 64–59 (A)
			Pau-Orthez	76–61 (A) 99–90 (H)
			Maccabi Tel Aviv	74–66 (A) 82–94 (H)
			Virtus Bologna	83–85 (H) 97–81 (A)
			Panathinaikos	67–51 (A) 96–87 (H)
			Real Madrid	73–78 (H) 86–81 (A)
			Barcelona	55–76 (H) 106–94 (A)
1996–97	FIBA EuroCup	Group C	Spartak Pleven	111–98 (A) 95–75 (H)
			ratiopharm Ulm	91–81 (H) 82–69 (A)
			Hapoel Galil Elyon	78–64 (H) 92–85 (A)
			Real Madrid	59–60 (A) 73–76 (H)
			MZT Skopje	77–75 (H) 75–73 (A)
		Last 16	Paris Racing	63–81 (H) 80–86 (A)
1997–98	FIBA Korać Cup	Additional preliminary round	Fribourg Olympic	66–67 (H) 63–78 (A)
		Group F	Den Helder Seals	80–56 (H) 63–76 (A)
			Montpellier	86–78 (A) 75–76 (H)
			Brose Baskets	93–95 (H) 89–77 (A)
1998–99	FIBA Korać Cup	Additional preliminary round	SAV Vacallo Basket	80–74 (H) 72–84 (A)
		Group H	Maccabi Rishon	93–99 (H) 74–77 (A)
			Les Mans Sarthe	72–78 (H) 78–65 (A)
			Brose Baskets	70–59 (A) 63–69 (H)
2004–05	ULEB Cup	Group G	Baskets Bonn	71–74 (H) 80–62 (A)
			Slask Wroclaw	85–83 (A) 60–70 (H)
			Lietuvos rytas	74–49 (A) 57–59 (H)
			Red Star Belgrade	66–106 (H) 83–69 (A)
			Pompea Napoli	87–82 (A) 67–104 (H)
2010–11	EuroChallenge	EuroChallenge qualifying round	BC Ferro-ZNTU	105–105 (H) 72–77 (A)
		Group C	Lukoil Academic	92–71 (A) 86–79 (H)
			Lugano Tigers	89–84 (H) 74–52 (A)
			Tartu Ülikool	80–74 (H) 80–64 (A)
		Last 16 Group K	Ventspils	100–65 (A) 71–74 (H)
			Gravelines-Dunkerque	64–67 (H) 91–82 (A)
			Norrköping Dolphins	83–75 (H) 80–74 (A)
2014–15	EuroChallenge	Group E	Belfius Mons-Hainaut	69–79 (H) 92–63 (A)
			JSF Nanterre	80–68 (A) 86–96 (H)
			Kataja Basket	90–93 (A) 107–82 (H)
2015–16	FIBA Europe Cup	Group B	Cibona	79–83 (H) 74–66 (A)
			Soproni KC	65–78 (A) 91–62 (H)
			Antwerp Giants	84–76 (A) 77–79 (H)
2016–17	Basketball Champions League	Second qualifying round	Pallacanestro Varese	72–75 (H) 70–72 (A)
	FIBA Europe Cup	Group A	Alba Fehérvár	77–74 (H) 90–71 (A)
			Élan Chalon	90–76 (A) 77–69 (H)
			Basic-Fit Brussels	74–79 (A) 75–80 (H)
		Second round

Former coaches

Former notable players

Won an official title or individual titles

References

External links

• Official website (Portuguese)