Formerly Eredivisie (1960–2010) Founded 1960 Country Netherlands | Sport Basketball No. of teams 8 Continent FIBA Europe (Europe) | |
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The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, is the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The league has a closed system. To participate a team has to have enough money and potential. The league began in 1960 as the Eredivisie and was organized by the NBB and later the FEB. In 1977 the league introduced the play-offs. At the moment the Dutch Basketball League consist of eight teams and is played under the FIBA rules.
It is run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB).
Rules
Each team has to play all the other teams in the league four times, twice at home and twice away. This means that the league's regular season ends after all teams play 36 matches. Like many other national domestic leagues in continental Europe, the Dutch Basketball League' takes a winter break once each team has played half of its scheduled games. At the end of the league, the eight best teams in the standings start a play-off, pitting the first place team in the standings versus the 8th place team in the standings, and so on. The quarter finals are played in a best-of-three format and the semi-finals are played in a best-of-five format, and the finals are played in a best-of-seven format.
Teams in the DBL are not allowed to have more than four players without a Dutch passport in their team.