Kataja BC

Kataja Basket Club is a professional basketball club of sports club Kataja from Joensuu, Finland. The team plays in the Korisliiga, the highest tier of Finnish basketball. In 2015, Kataja won its first national championship, after it beat Bisons Loimaa 3–2 in the Finnish Finals.

Kataja
LeaguesKorisliiga
Founded1949 (1949)
ArenaJoensuu Areena
Capacity2,500
LocationJoensuu, Finland
Championships2 Finnish Leagues
3 Finnish Cups
Retired numbers1 (11)
Websitekatajabasket.fi

History

The basketball activity of the club started in 1955. In 1961, the team started playing in the Joensuu Sports Hall. The team started in provincial competitions, but quickly promoted to the national level in the 1960s. From 1976 till 1980, the team played continuously in the highest Finnish division. In the 2001–02 season, the team won its first trophy when it won the Finnish Cup. In 2015, the first championship of Kataja was realized after a 3–2 Finals series win against Bisons Loimaa. In the 2012–13 season, Kataja started participating in European competitions when it entered the EuroChallenge. The team immediately reached the quarterfinals of the competition, and has played in Europe every season since.[1]

Achievements
Champions (2): 2014–15, 2016–17
Champions (3): 2002, 2011, 2012

Players

Retired numbers
Kataja Basket Club retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure
11 Eero OksavaG1963–1980

Current roster
Kataja BC roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 1 Odomes, Rashard 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 24 – (1996-12-21)21 December 1996
G/F 3 Saari, Semi 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 22 – (1998-06-03)3 June 1998
G 5 Mervola, Valtteri 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 19 – (2002-01-12)12 January 2002
G/F 7 Lommi, Tomi 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 24 – (1996-12-04)4 December 1996
C 10 Fayne, Phil 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 23 – (1997-04-15)15 April 1997
F/C 12 Vanttaja, Samuli 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 29 – (1991-04-22)22 April 1991
SF 13 Kaltiainen, Juho 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 18 – (2002-02-09)9 February 2002
G 17 Mattila, Niko 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 26 – (1994-02-16)16 February 1994
F 28 Alanen, Aapeli 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 24 – (1996-03-05)5 March 1996
G 31 Wilson, Jamar 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 36 – (1984-02-22)22 February 1984
F 32 Walton, Dantez 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 23 – (1997-12-28)28 December 1997
C 33 Nuolivirta, Mika 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 26 – (1994-10-01)1 October 1994
SG 34 Pihlajamäki, Valtteri 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 23 – (1997-03-26)26 March 1997
PF 45 Semple, Jordan 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 28 – (1992-08-12)12 August 1992
Head coach
  • Petri Virtanen
Assistant coach(es)
  • Petri Velling
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: July 29, 2020

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Season by season
Season Tier League Pos. Finnish Cup[lower-alpha 1] European competitions
2010–11 1 Korisliiga 2nd Champion
2011–12 1 Korisliiga 2nd Champion
2012–13 1 Korisliiga 3rd 3 EuroChallengeQF6–8
2013–14 1 Korisliiga 2nd N/A 3 EuroChallengeRS2–4
2014–15 1 Korisliiga 1st 3 EuroChallengeRS0–6
2015–16 1 Korisliiga 5th 3 FIBA Europe CupR325–7
2016–17 1 Korisliiga 1st 3 Champions LeagueRS6–8
4 FIBA Europe CupR160–2
2017–18 1 Korisliiga 6th 3 Champions LeagueQR31–1–2
4 FIBA Europe CupR24–8
2018–19 1 Korisliiga 3rd
  1. The Finnish Cup competition was dissolved after 2013.

References
  1. "Kataja Basket Club History". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
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