Start Lublin

Start Lublin, officially Polski Cukier Pszczółka Start Lublin for sponsporship reasons, is a Polish basketball club based in Lublin. The team plays in the Polish Basketball League (PLK) since 2014.[1] Its home arena is the Globus, which has places for 5,000 people. The basketball team is a part of MKS Start Lublin, which also holds chess and athletics sections.

Polski Cukier Pszczółka Start Lublin
Polski Cukier Pszczółka Start Lublin logo
LeaguesPLK
ENBL
Founded1953 (1953)
ArenaGlobus
Capacity5,000
LocationLublin, Poland
PresidentArkadiusz Pelczar
Head coachArtur Gronek
Team captainMateusz Dziemba
Websitewww.startlublin.pl

History

MKS Start Lublin was founded in 1953, along with the basketball team. After seven years of existence, Start promoted to the Polish Basketball League (PLK), the national highest league. In the 1964–65 season, Start captured its first bronze medal. In 1978, Start was the first Polish club to sign an African-American played in Kent Washington. Washington was named PLK Most Valuable Player in 1980.

In the 2002–03 season, Start returned to the PLK after winning the First Division. After two years, the team relegated once again.

In the summer of 2014, Start Lublin received a wild card from the PLK because of the expansion from 12 to 16 teams.

Lublin had its most successful season in the 2019–20 PLK season, which was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the season was ended, the team was in second place with a 17–5 record. As such, it qualified for a European competition for the first time in the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League.[2]

Honours

Polish Basketball League

  • Runners-up (1): 2019–20
  • Bronze medal (3): 1964–65, 1978–79, 1979–80
Polish Basketball Cup

Sponsorship names

Due to sponsorship reasons, the club has been known by several names:

  • Start Jadar (1992–93)
  • Start Instal (1993–96)
  • Start Faelbud (1996–98)
  • Gala Start (1998–99)
  • AICE Start (2000–01)
  • Start Lublin (2002–2005)
  • Start AZS Lublin (2005–2008)
  • Start Lublin (2008–2009)
  • Olimp Start Lublin (2009–2011)
  • Start Lublin (2011–2012)
  • Wikana Start S.A. Lublin (2012–2015)
  • TBV Start Lublin (2015–2019)
  • Pszczółka Start Lublin (2020)
  • Polski Cukier Pszczółka Start Lublin (2021–present)

Season by season
The Globus, home arena of Start Lublin
Season Tier League Pos. Polish Cup European competitions
2006–07 2 I liga 10th
2007–08 2 I liga 16th
2008–09 3 2 Liga 1st
2009–10 2 I liga 9th
2010–11 2 I liga 12th
2011–12 2 I liga 12th
2012–13 2 I liga 8th
2013–14 2 I liga 4th[lower-alpha 1]
2014–15 1 PLK 14th
2015–16 1 PLK 17th
2016–17 1 PLK 15th
2017–18 1 PLK 9th Quarterfinalist
2018–19 1 PLK 10th
2019–20 1 PLK 2nd[lower-alpha 2]
2020–21 1 PLK 6th 2 Champions LeagueRS
2021–22 1 PLK 12th Runners–up
2022–23 1 PLK 13th Runners–up R ENBLSF3rd
  1. Lublin received a wild card to play in the PLK, due to the expansion of the league.
  2. The 2019–20 PLK season was cancelled prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

Players

Current roster

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

Polski Cukier Pszczółka Start Lublin roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.
SF 0 Poland Krasuski, Michał   1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 23 – (2000-05-21)21 May 2000
G/F 1 United States Durham, Jabril (C) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 29 – (1994-01-23)23 January 1994
G 2 United States O'Reilly, Liam  1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – (1996-03-19)19 March 1996
G/F 3 Poland Dziemba, Mateusz  1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 31 – (1992-04-25)25 April 1992
PF 5 United States Wade, Trey  1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 25 – (1998-07-28)28 July 1998
G 7 Poland Pelczar, Bartłomiej  1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 23 – (2000-02-05)5 February 2000
PF 8 Croatia Gabrić, Tomislav  2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 28 – (1995-08-17)17 August 1995
G/F 9 Poland Karolak, Jakub  1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 30 – (1993-09-26)26 September 1993
G 17 Poland Kępka, Wiktor  1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 20 – (2003-04-05)5 April 2003
C 19 Poland  Szymański, Roman 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 32 – (1991-04-09)9 April 1991
PF 21 Poland Put, Filip  2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 30 – (1993-04-08)8 April 1993
C 40 United States Benson, Barret  2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 25 – (1997-12-25)25 December 1997
Head coach
  • Poland Artur Gronek
Assistant coach(es)
  • Poland Marcin Woźniak
Athletic trainer(s)
  • Poland Hubert Śledziński
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: September 23, 2023

Individual awards

PLK Most Valuable Player

  • Kent Washington – 1980

Notable players

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Start Lublin.
  1. Eurobasket.com profile
  2. "Strongest BCL lineup to date ahead of season 5". Basketball Champions League. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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