Falco Kosárlabda Club, for sponsorship reasons named Falco Volvo Alpok Autó Szombathely, is a Hungarian professional basketball club based in Szombathely. The team play their home games at Arena Savaria, a multi-use complex, which was opened in 2006.
History
Beginning and uprising The club was created in 1980, when basketball fanatics György Gráczer and István Németh with the support of the local wood industry Falco started to organize meetings and trainings. In that year the club entered the county level championship. In 1987, Falco decided to invest more money into the club and the success was immediate. By winning the championship in the 1987/88 season they won promotion to the second division. In the next year they did surprisingly well, finishing on the top in the regular season with only two losses, but failed in the play-offs final. A season later there was nothing what could prevent the yellow-blacks to lift the trophy in the final, and with that, after 27 years Szombathely got a top-flight basketball team again.
Successful years The goal in the inaugural season couldn't be more than to stay in the NBI, which they clearly managed. In the following years Falco turned into a good mid-table team with a good reputation. In the 1995/96 and 1996/97 season Falco have been only a step away from the semifinals, fallen in decisive fifth match. In the next year the team finished only 7th in the league but won silver medal in the Hungarian National Basketball Cup. The team reached its top performance next year, finishing second in the National Championship and beating teams like Rimini and Beşiktaş in the Korać Cup.
Financial crisis and revival
In the next few years Falco continued with high-level results, but a slow decreasing had been noticed. For 2002 the team went into a financial crisis, and produced the worst final place of the past years. A long-term, step by step financial consolidation plan have been accepted in that year, which saved the club from bankruptcy, but prevented the club to make quality signings. Still, the team had won a valuable bronze medal in the Hungarian Cup. After the financials have been cleared a quick improvement have started. In 2006 Falco moved to the newly built Arena Savaria and Srećko Sekulović arrived to coach the guys. In his first year in charge, after beating the reigning champion Atomerőmű, the team finished fourth in the playoff. In the 2007/2008 season Falco played unstoppable, the hard-work of Sekulović fructified and won the Championship title, first time in the club's history by beating arch-rival Körmend 3–1. In the Cup they marched till the final, where they lost to Atomerőmű in an epic battle. Nowadays Falco considered one of the top clubs in the country in a highly competitive league and have one of the best youth base in the country.
In 2015, Falco played in the 2015–16 FIBA Europe Cup, the third-tier continental level. Finishing with a 2–4 record in Group C, Falco was eliminated in the regular season.
In the following 2016–17 season, Falco had a successful year in the NB I/A. The club reached the playoff finals for the first time, where its lost 3–2 to Alba Fehérvár.
In the 2017–18 FIBA Europe Cup season, Falco played better as it had a 3–3 record but the club did not advance past the regular season.
In the 2018–19 season, Falco won its second national championship completing a total sweep in the playoffs. In the quarter-finals they eliminated KTE. Then they made it to the finals with sweeping Szolnoki Olaj KK. In the finals they upset their local rival BC Körmend 3–0, celebrating the Championship TitleVereséget szenvedett a Kaposvári KK SONLINE, 18 January 2020. Accessed 6 May 2020. away.
In the 2019–20 season, Falco managed to qualify for the Basketball Champions League (BCL). Since the league was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Falco gained the rights to join again for the 2020–21 season.Újra a Falco KC indulhat a BL-ben SZTV.hu, 6 March 2020. Accessed 12 May 2020.
Players
Current roster
Retired numbers Falco KC Szombathely retired numbersNoPlayerPositionTenure 8 László Kálmán G 1992–2013 18 Zoltán Horváth F 2008–2009
Other notable players To appear in this section a player must have either: - Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player. - Played at least one official international match for his senior national team. Benedek Váradi Antonio Alexe
Honours
Domestic competitions Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (National Championship of Hungary) Champions (7): 2007–08, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2025-26 Runners-up (5): 1998–99, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2024–25 Third place (2): 1999–00, 2001–02
Magyar Kupa (National Cup of Hungary) Champions (3): 2021, 2023, 2025 Runners-up (7): 1998, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2026 Third place (2): 1997, 2024
Season by season SeasonTierLeagueDomestic cup European competitions 1989–90 3 NB II/A 1st 1990–91 2 NB I/B 8th 1991–92 2 NB I/B 3rd 1992–93 1 NB I/A 12th 1993–94 1 NB I/A 8th 1994–95 1 NB I/A 7th 1995–96 1 NB I/A 8th 1996–97 1 NB I/A 5th Third place 1997–98 1 NB I/A 7th Runner-up 3 Korać Cup 1998–99 1 NB I/A 2nd 3 Korać Cup 1999–00 1 NB I/A 3rd 2000–01 1 NB I/A 5th 2001–02 1 NB I/A 3rd 2002–03 1 NB I/A 7th 2003–04 1 NB I/A 6th 2004–05 1 NB I/A 6th 2005–06 1 NB I/A 11th 2006–07 1 NB I/A 4th 2007–08 1 NB I/A 1st Runner-up 2008–09 1 NB I/A 4th Runner-up 2009–10 1 NB I/A 6th Runner-up 2010–11 1 NB I/A 7th 2011–12 1 NB I/A 2nd 2012–13 1 NB I/A 7th 2013–14 1 NB I/A11th 2014–15 1 NB I/A 6th Quarterfinalist 2015–16 1 NB I/A 9th Quarterfinalist 3 FIBA Europe Cup 2016–17 1 NB I/A 2nd Quarterfinalist 2017–18 1 NB I/A 2nd Runner-up 4 FIBA Europe Cup 2018–19 1 NB I/A 1st Runner-up 4 FIBA Europe Cup 2019–20 1 NB I/A 3 Champions League 2020–21 1 NB I/A 1st Champion 3 Champions League 2021–22 1 NB I/A 1st Quarterfinalist 3 Champions League 2022–23 1 NB I/A 1st Champion3 Champions League 2023–24 1 NB I/A 1st 3rd3 Champions League 2024–25 1 NB I/A 2nd Champion3 Champions League
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary.
In European competition Source: basketball.eurobasket.com Participations in Champions League: 7x Participations in FIBA Europe Cup: 4x Participations in Korać Cup: 2x
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate1997–98Korać CupQual. Round 1 Brotnjo(wo.) Regular season(Group I) Aris Moda Bagno81–9762–101 3rd TBB Trier81-95108-102 Maribor Ovni87-7372-671998–99Korać CupQual. Round 1 Svjetlost Brod72-6185-94157–155 Regular season(Group E) Beşiktaş94–8371–74 4th Ericsson Bobry Bytom71–9074–84 Pepsi Rimini85–6663–832015–16FIBA Europe Cup Regular season(Group C) Telenet Oostende64–8662–91 4th Openjobmetis Varese75–7371–94 Södertälje Kings81–8562–542017–18FIBA Europe CupQual. Round 2 Balkan96-9584-74180–169 Regular season(Group H) Nizhny Novgorod79–8492–94 3rd Szolnoki Olaj84–7479–89 Karpoš Sokoli108–87104–432018–19FIBA Europe Cup Regular season(Group H) Szolnoki Olaj66–8376–79 3rd Dinamo Sassari60–9269–104 Leicester Riders80–6595–842019–20Champions League Qual. Round 1 Oradea71-6290-96161–158 Qual. Round 2 Ventspils75-6973-55148–124 Regular season(Group D) Casademont Zaragoza70–7769–70 5th JDA Dijon82–8168–87 Telekom Baskets Bonn91–5977–91 Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta79–8349–74 Neptūnas97–7383–87 PAOK76–6689–80 Happy Casa Brindisi93–8392–982020–21Champions League Regular season(Group D) Casademont Zaragoza94–8676–85 3rd Nizhny Novgorod88–9368–73 Start Lublin84–7583–592021–22Champions League Regular season(Group D) NutriBullet Treviso81–8060–68 1st VEF Rīga68–5980–74 AEK83–7889–83 Round of 16(Group L) Lenovo Tenerife73–7962–87 4th SIG Strasbourg63–8586–98 Rytas86–8188–912022–23Champions League Regular season(Group A) SIG Strasbourg89–7178–81 4th UCAM Murcia104–9474–81 Tofaş64–7763–902023–24Champions League Regular season(Group A) Unicaja78–8765–88 4th Le Mans Sarthe75–7381–63 Peristeri bwin87–9070–872024–25Champions League Regular season(Group F) Rytas72–8283–103 2nd Unahotels Reggio Emilia78–7188–79 Śląsk Wrocław67–7484–75Play-ins Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan88–8169–76106–100Round of 16(Group L) ERA Nymburk86–10668–96 4th Nanterre 9289–9571–83 UCAM Murcia90–10463–852025–26Champions League Qual. Round QF Porto79–832025–26FIBA Europe Cup Regular season(Group H) Casademont Zaragoza74–9082–97 2nd Bakken Bears83–7690–79 Anorthosis Famagusta98–5687–79Second round(Group K) UCAM Murcia75–8067–97 2nd Rostock Seawolves77–8478–75 Energa Trefl Sopot83–7486–79Quarterfinals Bosna BH Telecom70–7881–66151–144Semifinals Surne Bilbao Basket81–9888–95169–193
References The history of Falco (Hungarian)
External links Official Team Page