Torpan Pojat

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Torpan Pojat
Leagues I division A
Founded1932;92 years ago (1932)
HistoryTorpan Pojat
(1932–present)
Arena Töölö Sports Hall
Location Helsinki, Finland
Championships9 Men's Finnish Championships
4 Men's Finnish Cups
Website topo.fi

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.

Contents

History

Former logo of Torpan Pojat, which consisted of a star Torpan Pojat basketball logo 2012.png
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

Season by season

Men

SeasonDomestic competitionsFinnish
Cup
European competitionsRegional competitions
TierLeaguePos.PostseasonTierLeagueResultLeaguePos.Postseason
2001–022Divisioona I A3
2002–032Divisioona I A8
2003–042Divisioona I A7
2004–052Divisioona I A1Promoted
2005–061 Korisliiga 6QF
2006–071 Korisliiga 4QF
2007–081 Korisliiga 2SFSF
2008–091 Korisliiga 8QFRunner-up
2009–101 Korisliiga 3Runner-upR16
2010–111 Korisliiga 8QFRunner-up
2011–121 Korisliiga 5Third placed [8] QF VTB 1QR
2012–132Divisioona I A2SF2RND

Women

SeasonDomestic competitionsFinnish
Cup
European competitionsRegional competitions
TierLeaguePos.PostseasonTierLeagueResultLeaguePos.Postseason
2005–061 Naisten Korisliiga 10Relegated
2006–072Naisten I Divisioona2
2007–082Naisten I Divisioona7
2008–092Naisten I Divisioona10
2009–102Naisten I Divisioona1PromotedQF
2010–111 Naisten Korisliiga 4SFSF
2011–121 Naisten Korisliiga 6QFQF
2012–131 Naisten Korisliiga 4QF2RND
2013–141 Naisten Korisliiga 3Third placed

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 Flag of Finland.svg Miki Kuusisto
G/F 4 Flag of the United States.svg L. D. Williams
G 8 Flag of Finland.svg Sami Marouf
G/F 10 Flag of Finland.svg Juuso Kauppinen
PG 11 Flag of Finland.svg Ilpo Pehkonen
F 13 Flag of Finland.svg Teo Niinimäki
F/C 15 Flag of The Gambia.svg Baboucarr Ceesay
F 16 Flag of Finland.svg Joel Jokinen
F/C 24 Flag of the United States.svg Milton Jennings
F 34 Flag of Finland.svg Jonis Heikkinen
F 45 Flag of Finland.svg Alvar Michelsen
G 77 Flag of Finland.svg Tuomo Antikainen
Head coach

Flag of Finland.svg Pekka Konttinen

Assistant coach(es)

Flag of Finland.svg Markus Rautala


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Cruz Roja.svg 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.

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.

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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. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  7. "Nostaako tämä seura Helsingin takaisin Korisliigaan?". Iltasanomat (in Finnish). 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. "ToPo jäi ilman liigalisenssiä". iltasanomat.fi (in Finnish). Iltasanomat. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Torpan Pojat relegated due to financial difficulties