UCAM Murcia Club Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball club based in Murcia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the FIBA Europe Cup. Their home venue is Palacio de Deportes. The team is owned and sponsored by the Spanish university Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM).
Founded in 1985 under the name Agrupación Deportiva Júver Murcia, the owners agreed with a Madrid-based club, Logos de Madrid, to buy out its rights to play in the Spanish second division. Murcia would play at that level for four consecutive seasons and its first superstar was do-it-all big man Randy Owens.
In 1990, Murcia, led by veteran center Mike Phillips, beat Obradoiro in a playoffs series to gain promotion to the Spanish League. The club would stay in the Spanish elite for the next seven seasons, with stars likes Ralph McPherson, Clarence Kea, Michael Anderson and Johnny Rogers and head coaches like Felipe Coello, José MarÃÂa Oleart and Moncho Monsalve. In December 1991, Kea pulled down 29 rebounds, which remains a Spanish League record, in a win against Breogán Lugo.
The club became CB Murcia in 1993 and moved to its current arena, Palacio de Deportes, the following season. Murcia organized the Copa del Rey tournament in the 1995âÂÂ96 season and made it to the semifinals. Murcia went down to the Spanish second division at the end of the 1996âÂÂ97 season, but reached the Spanish elite a couple of times, including in 2006, when it downed CAI Zaragoza in overtime in a do-or-die game to advance. Led by Jimmie Hunter and Juanjo Triguero, Murcia ranked 12th in the 2007âÂÂ08 season, but went back to the second division two years later. Murcia bounced back to score promotion directly with a 30âÂÂ4 record, and has been in the Spanish elite even since.
In 2013, the club switched hands and UCAM Murcia took control. That moved helped Murcia shine in the last couple of seasons for its best results ever. With Diego Ocampo as head coach and Scott Bamforth, Raulzinho Neto and Carlos Cabezas as its top newcomers, Murcia finished the Spanish regular season with a 17âÂÂ17 record, which was just one win from the playoffs. Last season Murcia found a new coach in Fotios Katsikaris and added more experienced players like Facundo Campazzo, Serhiy Lishchuk and VÃÂtor Faverani. That led to a seventh-place finish with an 18âÂÂ16 record and a ticket to the quarterfinals for the first time in the club's history, where it lost 2âÂÂ1 to Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, but earned the right to make its debut in European competitions in the 2016âÂÂ17 EuroCup. In its European debut, UCAM Murcia reached the Top 16 round.
In the next season, the club joined the Basketball Champions League, reaching the Final Four in its first participation. Murcia lost to AEK in the semifinals and won the third place game over MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.
In the 2023âÂÂ24 ACB season Murcia reached the finals in the first time after beating Valencia Basket in the quarterfinals and Unicaja in the semifinals, but they lost to Real Madrid in three games in 2024 ACB Finals
CB Murcia has received diverse sponsorship names along the years:
ACB Three Point Shootout Champion
Spain
Europe
USA
Rest of Americas
Africa
Oceania