WABA League
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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.
History
Formation and early years
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. In the next season, the league expanded 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 playing in the league varied from nine to twelve. 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
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 2013–14 season, 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. In June 2017, the league signed a sponsorship contract with tourist agency BTravel and officially changed its name to BTravel WABA League.
Names in history
- 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
| 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
Cadet WABA League
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. 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 and Crvena zvezda. In the third seasonis the champion was the team of Triglav Kranj, Slovenia, which is defeated in the final match of Maribor.
Pionir WABA League
Following the success of cadet league, a decision was made to launch the pioneering leagues. 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.
Finals
Champions
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia Šibenik | 5 | 5 | 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 |
| Slovenia Cinkarna Celje | 5 | 3 | 2002, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 2018, 2020, 2025 |
| Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica | 4 | 5 | 2016, 2018, 2020, 2025 | 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Croatia Gospić | 2 | 3 | 2004, 2010 | 2005, 2008, 2011 |
| Bulgaria Beroe | 2 | 1 | 2019, 2021 | 2017 |
| Serbia Partizan | 2 | – | 2012, 2013 | – |
| Serbia Radivoj Korać | 1 | 2 | 2014 | 2013, 2015 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar Sarajevo | 1 | – | 2003 | – |
| Bulgaria CSKA Sofia | 1 | – | 2007 | – |
| Italy Umana Reyer Venezia | 1 | – | 2015 | – |
| Serbia Vojvodina | – | 1 | – | 2006 |
| Montenegro Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje | – | 1 | – | 2009 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Čelik Zenica | – | 1 | – | 2012 |
| Serbia Crvena zvezda | – | 1 | – | 2014 |
| Croatia Medveščak | – | 1 | – | 2016 |
Notable persons
Former players
| Belarus Olga Masilionene Bosnia and Herzegovina Milica Deura Croatia Ivona Bogoje Luca Ivanković Jelena Ivezić Antonija Mišura Nika Mühl Sandra Popović Marija Vrsaljko Czech Republic Lucie Conkova North Macedonia Jelena Antić | Montenegro Jasmina Bigović Aleksandra Vujović Iva Perovanović Ana Turčinović Božica Mujović Serbia Tijana Ajduković Kristina Baltić Mirjana Beronja Dajana Butulija Nataša Bučevac Ana Dabović Milica Dabović Ivana Grubor Brankica Hadžović | Ivona Jerković Nevena Jovanović Dragana Stanković Nataša Kovačević Ivanka Matić Maja Miljković Tamara Radočaj Biljana Stanković Bojana Vulić Saša Čađo Slovenia Nika Barič United States Latasha Byears Constance Jinks Tiffani Johnson | Sheena Moore Brooke Queenan Jasmine Stone Latoya Williams |
Former coaches
- Stipe Bralić
- Slađan Ivić
- Marina Maljković
- Dragan Vuković
Awards
Sponsors
Title sponsor
- BTravel (Croatian tourist agency) (June 2017 - 2018)
See also
External links
- at Eurobasket.com