Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Greek B Basket League |
|
Formerly | Greek National B Class Championship (1961–1986) |
---|---|
Sport | Basketball |
Founded | 1973 |
No. of teams | 31 |
Country | Greece |
Continent | Europe |
Most recent champion(s) |
Panionios Aiolos Astakou |
Level on pyramid |
2nd tier Tier (1961–1986) 3rd Tier (1986–present) |
Promotion to | Greek A2 Basket League |
Relegation to | Greek C Basket League |
Official website | basket.gr |
The Greek B Basket League, or Greek B Basketball League (Greek: Ελληνικό Β Μπαςκετ Λιγκ), is a national semi-professional basketball league in Greece. It is also known as the Second National Championship, B National Championship, Second National League, B National League, Third Division, and in Greek, (Βήτα Εθνική καλαθοσφαίρισης) (Beta Ethniki Basketball).
It is the 3rd-tier of the basketball league system in Greece, and was founded in its current form in 1973. Originally, the league began in 1961, as the Greek National B Class Championship. This was the 2nd-tier level of Greek basketball until 1986, when it was replaced by the Greek A2 Basket League.
The Greek B Basket League was originally held in two groups. From 1986 to 2012, the league was held in one only group, and since 2013, the league is held again in two groups. The current champions are Panionios and Aiolos Astakou. In the current league, a total of 31 clubs take part, which are separated into two groups that are based on geographical criteria.
The first group comprises 16 teams, with most of them being based in the suburbs of Athens.
The second group originally comprised 16 teams