Serie B Basket

Serie B Basket
Formerly
  • Serie B Basket
    1937–38 to 1954–55
    (2nd tier)
  • Serie B Basket
    1955–56 to 1964–65
    (3rd tier)
  • Serie B Basket
    1965–66 to 1973–74
    (2nd tier)
  • Serie B Basket
    1974–75 to 1985–86
    (3rd tier)
  • Serie B2 Basket
    1986–87 to 2007–08
    (4th tier)
  • Serie B Amateurs Basket
    2008–09 to 2010–11
    (4th tier)
  • National B Division Basket
    2011–12 to 2013–14
    (4th tier)
  • Serie B Basket
    2014–15 to present
    (3rd tier)
SportBasketball
First season1937–38
No. of teams64
Country Italy
Level on pyramid3rd tier
Promotion toSerie A2 Basket
Relegation toSerie C Gold Basket
Domestic cupItalian LNP Cup
Websitelegapallacanestro.com (in Italian)

Serie B Basket is the third-tier league of professional men's basketball in Italy. Promoted teams are elevated to the Serie A2.

Format

Teams are divided into four groups by geographical contiguity. Promoted teams gain access to the second-tier Serie A2 Basket, while relegated teams get demoted to play in the Serie C Gold Basket.

History

Serie B Basket first began in the 1937–38 season as the second level of the Italian basketball league system, and it remained the 2nd-tier level of the Italian basketball pyramid until the 1954–55 season. Serie B Basket was downgraded to being the third-tier level on the Italian basketball pyramid from the 1955–56 season, until the 1964–65 season. From the 1965–66 season, through the 1973–74 season, it was once again the second-tier level on the Italian basketball pyramid, being one tier below the Serie A Basket.

Serie B Basket was then once again downgraded to being the third-tier level league on the Italian basketball pyramid from the 1974–75 season, through the 1985–86 season. With the creation of the Serie B Excellence (Italian: Serie B d'Eccellenza), Serie B2 was downgraded to being the fourth-tier level on the Italian basketball pyramid, and was renamed to Serie B2 Basket.

From 2008 to 2011, the league was known as Serie B Amateurs Basket (Italian: Serie B Dilettanti Basket). From 2011 to 2014, the league was known as the National B Division Basket (Italian: Divisione Nazionale B Basket). Since 2014, the league has once again been known as the Serie B Basket, and has once again been the third-tier level on the Italian basketball pyramid.

See also