Falco KC Szombathely

FALCO-SZOVA KC Szombathely
Leagues	Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (NBI/A), FIBA Europe Cup
Founded	1980
History	FALCO-SZOVA KC Szombathely (1980–Present)
Arena	Arena Savaria
Arena Capacity	3,600
Location	Szombathely, Hungary
Team colors	Yellow, Black
President	György Gráczer
Head coach	Kálmán László
Championships	1 Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A
Website	falcokc.nyugat.hu
Uniforms
Home Away

FALCO-SZOVA KC Szombathely, is a Hungarian professional basketball club based in Szombathely. The team play their home games at Arena Savaria, a multi-use complex, which was opened in 2006.

History

Beginning and uprising

The club was created in 1980, when basketball fanatics György Gráczer and István Németh with the support of the local wood industry Falco started to organize meetings and trainings. In that year the club entered the county level championship. In 1987, Falco decided to invest more money into the club and the success was immediate. By winning the championship in the 1987/88 season they won promotion to the second division. In the next year they did surprisingly well, finishing on the top in the regular season with only two losses, but failed in the play-offs final. A season later there was nothing what could prevent the yellow-blacks to lift the trophy in the final, and with that, after 27 years Szombathely got a top-flight basketball team again.

Successful years

The goal in the inaugural season couldn't be more than to stay in the NBI, which they clearly managed. In the following years Falco turned into a good mid-table team with a good reputation. In the 1995/96 and 1996/97 season Falco have been only a step away from the semifinals, fallen in decisive fifth match. In the next year the team finished only 7th in the league but won silver medal in the Hungarian National Basketball Cup. The team reached its top performance next year, finishing second in the National Championship and beating teams like Rimini and Beşiktaş in the Korać Cup.

Financial crisis and revival

In the next few years Falco continued with high-level results, but a slow decreasing had been noticed. For 2002 the team went into a financial crisis, and produced the worst final place of the past years. A long-term, step by step financial consolidation plan have been accepted in that year, which saved the club from bankruptcy, but prevented the club to make quality signings. Still, the team had won a valuable bronze medal in the Hungarian Cup. After the financials have been cleared a quick improvement have started. In 2006 Falco moved to the newly built Arena Savaria and Srećko Sekulović arrived to coach the guys. In his first year in charge, after beating the reigning champion Atomerőmű, the team finished fourth in the playoff. In the 2007/2008 season Falco played unstoppable, the hard-work of Sekulović fructified and won the Championship title, first time in the club's history by beating arch-rival Körmend 3-1. In the Cup they marched till the final, where they lost to Atomerőmű in an epic battle. Nowadays Falco considered one of the top clubs in the country in a highly competitive league and have one of the best youth base in the country.

Players

Retired numbers

• 18 Zoltán Horváth, F-C, died in a car accident

Current roster

Falco-SZOVA KC Szombathely roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. F 7 Borszéki, Csaba 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 98 kg (216 lb) C 15 Dies, Emmanuel 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 115 kg (254 lb) PG 9 Frazier, Winsome 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (198 lb) C 10 Horti, Bálint 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 111 kg (245 lb) PG 4 Kazlauskas, Arnas 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 104 kg (229 lb) G 8 Kálmán, László (C) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 79 kg (174 lb) G 16 Krasznai, Tibor 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 68 kg (150 lb) F 6 Pankár, Tibor 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 94 kg (207 lb) PG 11 Wilson, Donald 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 193 kg (425 lb)	Head coach Nikola Lazić Assistant coach(es) Gábor Csátaljay Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 2009-10-03

Trophies and achievements

Trophies

• Hungarian National Championship:
  • Winners (1) : 2007/08
  • Runners-up (2) : 1998/99, 2011/12
  • Third placed (3) : 1999/00, 2001/02
• Hungarian Cup :
  • Runners-up (4) : 1997/98, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10
  • Third placed (1) : 1996/97

References

• The history of Falco (Hungarian)

External links

• Official Team Page (Hungarian)