Partizani Basket
Partizani Basket, nicknamed Demat e kuq (Red Bulls), is a basketball team from Tirana, Albania. They play in the Albanian A-1 League, wear red, and play at the Asllan Rusi Palace of Sports. The club, founded in 1946, is the country’s most successful, having won 33 Albanian championships. The head coach is Arben Fagu.
Partizani Basket has a long history in European competition. Their first European game was on December 18, 1968, against Pallacanestro Cantù, ending in a 73–73 draw. Their star playmaker Agim Fagu scored 48 points and earned a FIBA Banner Badge from William Jones, the FIBA secretary-general who attended the match.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, Partizani competed several times in the European Cup (now the EuroLeague). They made their Albanian Superleague debut in the 1969–70 season, but lost in the first round to CS Dinamo București. The 1970–71 season was interrupted when they forfeited a first-round match against ITÜ due to a cholera outbreak in Turkey.
The club reached the round of 16 in 1972–73 after Jeunesse Sportivo Alep withdrew, then faced Crvena zvezda and lost both games. In 1973–74 they again reached the round of 16, beating Csepel SC 78–71 at home after a 57–58 away loss, and defeating Wienerberger 72–71 in one leg before losing 78–68 in the other. In 1974–75 they beat Sparta Bertrange with a 193–159 aggregate score but withdrew against BC Balkan Botevgrad in the next round.
After a break, Partizani returned to European competition in 1978–79 and reached the quarterfinals. In Group E they beat BC Brno 100–79 at home, lost 64–99 to KK Bosna Royal away, and crushed AEL Limassol 151–58 at home; they then lost 104–83 at Brno in the later stage, narrowly missing the semifinals.
In the 1978–79 quarterfinal group stage, Partizani showed strong form, beating KK Partizan Belgrade 101–98 and Al Ittihad Aleppo 105–93, along with other results, finishing second in their group and ranking among Europe’s top twelve clubs.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:52 (CET).