Torpan Pojat

Torpan Pojat, shortened to ToPo, is a basketball club based in Helsinki, Finland. Torpan Pojat has their men's and women's team playing in national 1st division and many minor and junior teams in different age categories.

Torpan Pojat
LeaguesFirst Division
Founded1932 (1932)
HistoryTorpan Pojat
(1932–present)
ArenaTöölö Sports Hall
Munkkiniemen Yhteiskoulu
Helsinki Ice Hall
LocationHelsinki, Finland
Championships9 Men's Finnish Championships
4 Men's Finnish Cups
Websitetopo.fi

History
Former logo of Torpan Pojat, which consisted of a star

The club was formed in 1932 as a sports club for a school in the neighbourhood of Munkkiniemi in Helsinki. Their men's team played for the first time in the predecessor of Korisliiga in 1956 and continued to play a total of 51 seasons in Korisliiga and seven seasons in lower divisions between 1956 and their dissolution in 2013. The women's team played in the highest tier for the first time in 1962, but never managed to establish itself in the league.[1]

Torpan Pojat also played in international competitions. They got their first international match in the 1960–61 season of the FIBA Champion's Cup. The men's team played BC Sparta Prague in the first round, losing both legs (56–65, 47–68). They appeared in the competition also in 1966–67, 1981–82, 1983–84 and 1986–87. The men's team played twice in the Korać Cup (1988–89 and 1989–90) and four times in the Saporta Cup (1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999-00). Torpan Pojat made their record attendance of 9626 in the 1996–97 season of the cup in a game against CSK Samara.[2] They also played once in the VTB United League (2011–12).[3]

Former NBA players Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen have played for Torpan Pojat. Rodman played one game on 6 November 2005, against Espoon Honka. Rodman played 28 minutes, scored 17 points, and grabbed 6 rebounds. Fifteen of his 17 points were made behind the 3-point line, with a total of 13 attempts from beyond the arc. Pippen played two games in 2008. He played on 4 January 2008 against Porvoon Tarmo scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 23 minutes. On 5 January, against Honka, he had 9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes.[4][5]

Torpan Pojat was unable to acquire a license to play in Korisliiga for the 2012–2013 season, and were then relegated to a lower division. After the 2012–2013 season spent in a lower division, Torpan Pojat men's team was dissolved and their place in the second level of Finnish basketball, Division I A was transferred to the newly formed Helsinki Seagulls along with the remaining players.[6][7]

Honours
  • Korisliiga
    • Winners (9): 1960, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998
  • Men's Finnish Cup
    • Winners (4): 1980, 1992, 1996, 1997

Season by season

Men
  • 1956 to 1972–73: Korisliiga
  • 1973–74: Miesten I Divisioona (English: Men's First Division)
  • 1974–75 to 1999–00: Korisliiga
  • 2000–01: Miesten I Divisioona A (English: Men's First Division A)
Season Domestic competitions Finnish
Cup		 European competitions Regional competitions
Tier League Pos. Postseason Tier League Result League Pos. Postseason
2001–02 2 Divisioona I A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2002–03 2 Divisioona I A 8 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2003–04 2 Divisioona I A 7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2004–05 2 Divisioona I A 1 Promoted N/A N/A N/A
2005–06 1 Korisliiga 6 QF N/A N/A N/A
2006–07 1 Korisliiga 4 QF N/A N/A N/A
2007–08 1 Korisliiga 2 SF SF N/A N/A
2008–09 1 Korisliiga 8 QF Runner-up N/A N/A
2009–10 1 Korisliiga 3 Runner-up R16 N/A N/A
2010–11 1 Korisliiga 8 QF Runner-up N/A N/A
2011–12 1 Korisliiga 5 Third placed[8] QF N/A VTB1QR
2012–13 2 Divisioona I A 2 SF 2RND N/A N/A
  • 51 seasons in Korisliiga
  • 7 seasons in Miesten I Divisioona (English: Men's First Division)

Women
  • 1962 to 1964–65: Naisten Korisliiga
  • 1965–66: Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)
  • 1966–67: Naisten Korisliiga
  • 1967–68 to 1970–71: Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)
  • 1971–72 to 1975–76: Naisten Korisliiga
  • 1976–77: Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)
  • 1977–78: Naisten Korisliiga
  • 1978–79 to 1996–97: Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)
  • 1997–98 to 1998–99: Naisten Korisliiga
  • 1999–00 to 2004–05: Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)
Season Domestic competitions Finnish
Cup		 European competitions Regional competitions
Tier League Pos. Postseason Tier League Result League Pos. Postseason
2005–06 1 Naisten Korisliiga 10 Relegated N/A N/A N/A
2006–07 2 Naisten I Divisioona 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2007–08 2 Naisten I Divisioona 7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2008–09 2 Naisten I Divisioona 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2009–10 2 Naisten I Divisioona 1 Promoted QF N/A N/A
2010–11 1 Naisten Korisliiga 4 SF SF N/A N/A
2011–12 1 Naisten Korisliiga 6 QF QF N/A N/A
2012–13 1 Naisten Korisliiga 4 QF 2RND N/A N/A
2013–14 1 Naisten Korisliiga 3 Third placed N/A N/A N/A
  • 19 seasons in Naisten Korisliiga
  • 33 seasons in Naisten I Divisioona (English: Women's First Division)

Updated as of season 2013–14

Current roster

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

Torpan Pojat roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.Name
PG 2 Miki Kuusisto
G/F 4 L. D. Williams
G 8 Sami Marouf
G/F 10 Juuso Kauppinen
PG 11 Ilpo Pehkonen
F/C 12 Sakari Salminen
F 13 Teo Niinimäki
F/C 15 Baboucarr Ceesay
F 16 Joel Jokinen
F/C 24 Milton Jennings
F 34 Jonis Heikkinen
F 45 Alvar Michelsen
G 77 Tuomo Antikainen
Head coach

Pekka Konttinen

Assistant coach(es)

Markus Rautala

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: 29 September 2017

Notable players

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

References
  1. "Torpan Pojat / Sarjan Historia". Basket.fi. Finnish Basketball Association. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  2. "Korisliigan yleisöennätys 7420 katsojaa". basket.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Basketball Federation. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  3. "Finnish Clubs / Statistics". sathanasias.bravepages.com. Sotiris Athanasias. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  4. "Dennis Rodman". basket.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Basketball Federation. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  5. "Scottie Pippen". basket.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Basketball Federation. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. "ToPo jäi ilman liigalisenssiä". Iltasanomat (in Finnish). 13 June 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  7. "Nostaako tämä seura Helsingin takaisin Korisliigaan?". Iltasanomat (in Finnish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. "ToPo jäi ilman liigalisenssiä". iltasanomat.fi (in Finnish). Iltasanomat. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Torpan Pojat relegated due to financial difficulties
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