Okapi Aalst is a Belgian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

club from Aalst,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The club competes in the top tier

BNXT League The BNXT League is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL and Pro Basketball League, PBL. The inaugural season ...

and plays its home games in the Okapi Forum, which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 2,800 people. Okapi is a long-time participant of the Belgian first division, is the owner of one Belgian Cup and two Supercups. As well, Aalst was a regular participant in European competitions in the past. In its history the team has included many quality players who would be named Belgian League MVP or have played for top

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

teams, such as

Chris Copeland Christopher Stephen Copeland (born March 17, 1984) nicknamed "The X-Factor" is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Colorado, Boulder. Early life Copeland was born in Orange, New ...

and Matt Lojeski.

History

Okapi was founded on 15 November 1949 by a group of friends in Aalst, almost all going to the school named Aalsterse Atheneum. Piet de Coninck van Noyen was one of the founders. In 1956, Odilon Ringoir became the first chairman of the club. In 1957, the municipality of Aalst allowed the team to play outside at the Hopmarkt and as a result more spectators watched the team's matches. In the winter months, the team played inside a shoe factory in Terjoden. In the 1958–59 season, Okapi promoted to the fourth national league. In 1969, the first foreign players where signed to keep up with opposing teams. In the 1969–70 season, Okapi won the national second division title in an impressive way by going unbeaten in all 44 games. In the 1970–71 season, the club made its maiden debut at the First National League. The team stayed there for five years until it was relegated again. The downfall lasted shortly as the team promoted back the next season. In the following seasons, Okapi enjoyed the first league in which local Derbys against Black Boys Aalst were played. In 1980, the team relegated once again. In the 2011–12 season, Aalstar won its first trophy ever with its

Belgian Basketball Cup The Belgian Basketball Cup (Beker van België / Coupe de Belgique), for sponsorship reasons the Lotto Basketball Cup, is the top tier national basketball cup competition in Belgium. The tournament is played in a knock-out format, in which teams ...

victory. Okapi defeated

Antwerp Giants Antwerp Giants, named Windrose Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, is a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketball. The c ...

96–89 after overtime. By winning the Cup, Okapi qualified for the Belgian Supercup the next season, which it also won after defeating

BC Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in t ...

. In 2013, Okapi won the Supercup for the second consecutive year by beating Oostende once again. In the 2013–14 season, Okapi reached the Finals of the Belgian League for the first time. In the Finals, the team was swept by Oostende, which went on to win its third straight title. In June 2020, the team changed its name from Okapi Aalstar back to Okapi Aalst. Since the 2021–22 season, Okapi plays in the

, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.

Honours and titles

Belgian League: *Runners-up (1): 2013–14

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

* Winners (1): 2011–12 **Runners-up (3): 1963–64, 1997–98, 2012–13 Belgian Supercup *Winners (2): 2012, 2013

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

*Winners (3): 1969-70, 1974-75, 2005–06

Season by season

Logos

Okapi Aalstar logo.png, The official Okapi Aalstar crest Crelan Okapi.png, Crelan Okapi Aalstar
(2015–2020)

Players

Current roster

Notable players

References

External links

Eurobasket.com team profile
{{Ethias League Basketball teams in Belgium Sport in East Flanders Okapi Aalster Pro Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1949 1949 establishments in Belgium