Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski

Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski, also known as  BM Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski for sponsorship reasons, is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Ostrów Wielkopolski. They play in the Polish Basketball League (PLK) since its promotion back in 2015. The club won the Polish national championship in 2021 and the Polish Cup in 2019 and 2022. Since then, Stal has also been active at the European stage in the Basketball Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup.

The home arena of the team is the Arena Ostrów.

History
In 2015, Stal promoted from the second-tier I Liga to the PLK. In its first season, the team finished 13th in the standings with a 12–20 record. In the 2016–17 season, Stal had a historic season as the team reached the semi-finals of the PLK after defeating MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza 3–0 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Stal lost to Stelmet Zielona Góra but won the third place series against Energa Czarni Słupsk.

In the 2017–18 season, Stal had an even more successful season as the team reached the PLK finals for the first time after defeating Polski Cukier Toruń. In the Finals, the team lost to Anwil Włocławek, 2–4. In 2019, Stal won the Polish Basketball Cup after defeating Arka Gdynia 77–74 in the final. It was the first ever trophy for the club.

In the 2020–21 season, Stal played in the FIBA Europe Cup and reached the Final Four of the tournament. It reached the finals were it lost to Israeli club Ironi Ness Ziona. Later that season, Stal won the finals of the 2020–21 PLK season, winning its first Polish championship in club history. Guard Jakub Garbacz was named the PLK Finals MVP.

New era started in 2022 when previous assistant Andrzej Urban was promoted the head coach. Team management reoriented its roster composition philosophy, focusing more on European foreigners. With players like Aigars Šķēle, Ojārs Siliņš and Nemanja Đurišić Stal hit the bullz-eye, winning its first Polish Supercup. By winning European North Basketball League, Stal won its first international title. Urban's debut season ended with bronze in the Polish league. Before his second season with the team, Latvian international Šķēle became the first ever current state Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski player in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Arenas
In the majority of its existence, the team played in the Hala Sportowa Stal, which had a capacity of 1,800 people. Since 2020, the club plays its home games in the Arena Ostrów, which has capacity for 3,000 people. The arena costed 31 million zł and was built by local company Bud-Rem.

Honours

 * Polish Basketball League
 * Winners (1): 2020-21
 * Polish Basketball Cup
 * Winners (2): 2019, 2022
 * Runners-up (1): 2024
 * Polish Basketball Supercup
 * Winners (1): 2022
 * Runners-up (2): 2019, 2021
 * FIBA Europe Cup
 * Runners-up (1): 2020–21
 * European North Basketball League
 * Winners (1): (2023)

Sponsorship names
The team has also been known as:
 * BM Slam Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski (2012–2013)
 * Intermarché Bricomarché (2013–2015)
 * BM Slam Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski (2015–present)

Notable players
• 🇫🇮 Carl Lindbom

• Vangelis Mantzaris

•  Shawn King

• 🇵🇱 Mateusz Kostrzewski

• 🇵🇱 Szymon Szewczyk

• 🇵🇱 Jakub Garbacz

• 🇵🇱 Damian Kulig

•  Ojārs Siliņš

•  Aigars Šķēle

• 🇲🇪 Nemanja Đurišić

• 🇺🇸 Aaron Johnson

• 🇺🇸 Kobi Simmons

• 🇺🇸 Adonis Thomas