Torpan Pojat, shortened to ToPo, is a basketball club based in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, 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.

History

The club was formed in 1932 as a sports club for a school in the neighbourhood of

Munkkiniemi Munkkiniemi ( sv, Munksnäs, Helsinki slang: ''Munkka'') is a neighbourhood in Helsinki. Subdivisions within the district are Vanha Munkkiniemi, Kuusisaari, Lehtisaari, Munkkivuori, Niemenmäki and Talinranta. The land in Munkkiniemi was from th ...

in Helsinki. Their men's team played for the first time in the predecessor of

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

in 1956 and continued to play a total of 51 seasons in

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. 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 Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people * Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player * Vitomir ...

(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. They also played once in the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

(2011–12). Former NBA players

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

and

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

have played for Torpan Pojat. Rodman played one game on 6 November 2005, against

Espoon Honka 237px, Petteri Koponen with Espoon Honka in 2007 Espoon Honka, also known as Honka Playboys, was a basketball club based in Espoo, Finland and it played in Korisliiga. The club was dissolved in 2011 due to financial difficulties. History Espoon ...

. 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. Torpan Pojat was unable to acquire a license to play in

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.

Honours

**Winners (9): 1960, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998 *Men's

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

**Winners (4): 1980, 1992, 1996, 1997

Season by season

Men

* 1956 to 1972–73:

* 1973–74: Miesten I Divisioona (English: ''Men's First Division'') * 1974–75 to 1999–00:

* 2000–01: Miesten I Divisioona A (English: ''Men's First Division A'') * 51 seasons in

* 7 seasons in Miesten I Divisioona (English: ''Men's First Division'')

Women

* 1962 to 1964–65:

Naisten Korisliiga Naisten Korisliiga (Women's Basketball League) is the highest tier of women's basketball in Finland. The competition was formerly known as Koripallon naisten SM-sarja (Women's Basketball Finnish Championship) and was renamed Naisten Korisliiga f ...

* 1965–66: Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') * 1966–67:

* 1967–68 to 1970–71: Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') * 1971–72 to 1975–76:

* 1976–77: Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') * 1977–78:

* 1978–79 to 1996–97: Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') * 1997–98 to 1998–99:

* 1999–00 to 2004–05: Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') * 19 seasons in

* 33 seasons in Naisten I Divisioona (English: ''Women's First Division'') ''Updated as of season 2013–14''

Current roster

Notable players

References

External links

Official website

Women's team in Naisten Korisliiga
{{VTB United League Basketball teams in Finland Basketball teams established in 1932 Sports clubs in Helsinki