Spirou Charleroi

Spirou Basket, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome which can host 6,300 people.

Spirou
Nickname	Karolo's
Leagues	BNXT League
Founded	1989; 35 years ago (1989)
History	Spirou Monceau 1989–1990 Spirou Basket de Charleroi 1990–present
Arena	Spiroudome
Capacity	6,300
Location	Charleroi, Belgium
President	Jean-Jacques Cloquet
Head coach	Sam Rotsaert
Championships	10 Belgian Championships 5 Belgian Cups 7 Belgian Supercups
Website	www.spiroubasket.be
Home Away Third

Established in 1989, the team is named after the long-running Belgian comics magazine Spirou, the publisher of which, Dupuis, is based in Marcinelle, Charleroi.

History

Spirou Charleroi has won the Belgian League championship ten times (1996–99, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), the Belgian Cup 5 times (1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2009), and the Belgian Supercup 7 times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010).

In the 2010–11 season, Spirou made its debut in the Euroleague, the highest continental league of Europe. The following season, Spirou played in the regular season for the second time in a row.

On July 29, 2014, Jacques Stas became the new head coach of the club while his predecessor Giovanni Bozzi replaced him as team president.^[1]

Since the 2021–22 season, Spirou plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.^[2]

Sponsorship names

 

The Spiroudome

Partly due to sponsorship reasons, the club has known several names:

• Spirou Monceau (1989–1990)
• Spirou Charleroi (1990–2011)
• Belgacom Spirou (2011–2014)
• Proximus Spirou (2014–2018)

Current roster

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

Spirou roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age SF 1   Fogang, Noah 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) G 5   Libert, Alexandre 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) PG 10   Samardzic, Milan 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) PF 13   Schoepen, Yoeri 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) F 17   Adzeh, Craig 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) PG 20   Samardzic, Vukan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) PG 28   Lisboa, Rafael 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) PF 29   Osaghae, Osasumwen 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) C 34   Prepelič, Bine 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) F 44   Makwa, Marlon 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) G 56   Jackson, Jhivvan 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) F/C 99   Kuta, Nathan 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) PG   Vrencken, Nino 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	Head coach   Sam Rotsaert Assistant coach(es)   Frederic Wilmot   Anthony Stevens Legend (C) Team captain   Injured Transactions Updated: October 7, 2022

Honours

• Belgian League
  • Champions (10): 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
    • Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2011–12
• Belgian Cup
  • Winners (5): 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2008–09
• Belgian Supercup
  • Winners (7): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010
• Charleroi, Belgium Invitational Game
  • Winners (1): 2008

Season by season

Season	Tier	League	Pos.	Belgian Cup	Supercup	European competitions
2006–07	1	First Division	3rd			3 FIBA EuroCup	RS
2007–08	1	First Division	1st			2 ULEB Cup	RS
2008–09	1	First Division	1st	Champion		2 Eurocup	T16
2009–10	1	First Division	1st	Runner-up	Runner-up	2 Eurocup	RS
2010–11	1	First Division	1st	Semifinalist	Winner	1 Euroleague	RS
2011–12	1	First Division	2nd		Runner-up	1 Euroleague	RS
2012–13	1	First Division	3rd	Last 16		2 Eurocup	RS
2013–14	1	First Division	5th	Semifinalist		2 Eurocup	RS
2014–15	1	First Division	5th	Quarterfinalist		2 Eurocup	RS
2015–16	1	First Division	5th	Quarterfinalist		2 Eurocup	RS
2016–17	1	First Division	4th	Quarterfinalist		3 Champions League	RS
2017–18	1	First Division	3rd	Semifinalist		4 FIBA Europe Cup	RS
2018–19	1	First Division	5th	Semifinalist		3 Champions League	QR3
						4 FIBA Europe Cup	RS
2019–20	1	First Division	5th^[a]	Runner-up		4 FIBA Europe Cup	R2

1. The 2019–20 season was cancelled prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable players

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

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

•   Christophe Beghin
•   Ralph Biggs
•   Marcus Faison
•   Didier Mbenga
•   Sacha Massot
•   Wen Mukubu
•   Jacques Stas
•   Eric Struelens
•   Kevin Tumba
•   Niels Marnegrave
•   Damir Krupalija
•   Tornike Shengelia
•   Justin Hamilton
•   Andre Riddick
•   Ron Ellis
•   Dario Hunt
•   Matt Walsh
•   Demond Mallet
•   Alexander Lindqvist

References

1. "Jacques Stas coach Belgacom Spirou Charleroi". Eurobasket.com. July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
2. "Licenties BNXT League 2021-2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2021.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spirou Charleroi.

• Official website (in French)
• Eurocup – Team profile
• Eurobasket.com – Team page