Pantterit
| Pantterit | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leagues | Men: Division III |
| Founded | 1938 |
| History |
Kiri-Veikot (1938-1949) HOK-Veikot (1949-1953) Pantterit (1953-present) |
| Location | Helsinki, Finland |
| Team colors | |
| Championships |
Men: 14 Korisliiga titles 3 Suomen Cup titles Women: 5 Naisten Korisliiga titles |
| Website | http://www.pantterit.com |
Pantterit (English: Panthers) is a basketball club from Helsinki, Finland. The club was formed in 1938 and it has won the men's Finnish championship title for 14 times making it the most successful team in Finnish basketball history. Pantterit also has 5 women's Finnish championship titles.
Men
The club was formed in 1938 and were originally named Kiri-Veikot. Pantterit played in the very first season of Finnish championship in basketball in 1939. The club took its first championship title in 1944 and became the club to beat in two following decades. Pantterit became the first Finnish team to participate in international basketball competitions, as they played against polish Legia Warsaw in the 1958 season of Champions Cup. Pantterit beat Legia on the first leg (64-62), but lost the second leg (67-71) and were eliminated by aggregate score. In the 1959-60 season Pantterit beat their first round opponents HSG Wissenschaft HU from East Germany, but were relegated in the next round against KS Polonia from Poland.
Pantterit found their success again in early 1980s as they first won the championship in 1980 and took the cup next year. The victories made Pantterit eligible for international competitions and they did participate in the Cup Winner's Cup in 1982-83 season. They were relegated in the first round when they lost to Swedish Solna IK.
Pantterit won their next title in 1991 when they took the Suomen Cup, the yearly national cup competition. They participated in the 1992-93 season of the European Cup, beating Tinex Norik Medvode from Slovenia in the first round. Swizz Pully Basket ended the team's cup journey on the second round. Pantterit also won the 1995 Suomen Cup but did not take part in international competitions.
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Wikipedia