Bilbao Basket

Professional basketball club from Bilbao, Spain, competing in Liga ACB.

Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket, also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilbao Arena.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Beltzezko gizonak; Hombres de negro (Men in Black)
Leagues: Liga ACB
Founded: 7 March 2000
History: Club Basket Bilbao Berri (2000–present)
Arena: Bilbao Arena
Capacity: 10,014
Location: Bilbao, Spain
President: Isabel Iturbe

Lore & Background

The club was founded in 2000 after replacing CB Cajabilbao (which had earlier absorbed SD Patronato). After four seasons between LEB and LEB 2, Bilbao promoted to Liga ACB in 2004 by winning the LEB playoff final against Baloncesto León. Bilbao spent ten seasons in the top tier of Spanish basketball, becoming finalist of the league in the 2010–11 season, where it lost in the finals to FC Barcelona by 3–1. In 2012, Bilbao played the EuroLeague and was eliminated in the quarterfinals by CSKA Moscow, who won the series 3–0. The best era of the club finished in 2013, when it lost the 2013 Eurocup Final at Charleroi against Lokomotiv Kuban. On 17 July 2014, the ACB excluded Bilbao Basket from the Liga ACB due to its financial trouble, but on 8 August, the Association was forced to retire the exclusion and finally Bilbao Basket remained in the Spanish top league. The club played four more seasons in Liga ACB until their relegation on 13 May 2018, after losing against Baskonia the Basque derby by 74–78.

Reader's Guide

Bilbao Basket has a strong rivalry with Saski Baskonia. Their games together are called the Basque basketball derby. The club's reserve team is Fundación Bilbao Basket, which currently plays in Tercera FEB, the fourth tier of Spanish basketball.