Cluj-Napoca

Early history (1947-1990)

Whilst the Universitatea Cluj multi sports club was founded in 1919, the basketball team was only established in 1947, coexisting for about a year with its equivalent at the Bolyai University, before their merger in December 1948. The club later changed its name to Știința Cluj in 1950, before switching it back to Universitatea in 1966. In its early stages during the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Romanian championship was played in a qualification format, teams having to play in local and regional championships in order to qualify for the final tournament. Therefore, this period was marked by a battle for local supremacy between Știința and teams like Dermata (later renamed Flamura Roșie), ASA Cluj and Metalul, The Red Caps often falling short against their more established rivals. In fact, many of the better players in the team were loaned to Divizia A side Flamura Roșie, once the new divisional championship format was established. However, the 1955 season saw the students (now playing under the name IMF-Progresul Cluj) being promoted to the first tier for the first time in their history, under the leadership of coach Gheorghe Rusu. Many of the players that were loaned a couple of years earlier, now armed with experience playing at the higher level, were part of that year's roster. Following promotion, the results would continue to improve, everything culminating in a second-place finish during the 1958–59 season. This result kickstarted two decades of amazing performances in the top flight, spearheaded by the talents of emblematic players for the history of the club, like Horia Demian, Imre Vizi, Mihai Albu, Gheorghe Roman and Matei Rührig. The communism years were a time when the Romanian basketball landscape was dominated by Steaua and Dinamo Bucharest, teams which were closely tied with the army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs respectively. This translated in support from the communist regime in terms of training facilities and recruitment of the best players in the league. However, Studenții were often the main challengers of their rivals from the capital, finishing once in second and nine times in third during the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s however saw a decline in results, with lower finishes in the championship eventually culminating in relegation to Divizia B following the 1986–87 season. The turn of the decade found Universitatea back in the top flight, with a young Gheorghe Mureșan starring alongside other players that were going to play an important role for the club in the years to come.

Three Romanian championship titles (1990-2000)

The new decade saw a turn in fortunes for the Cluj team. This was made possible by some marquee signings: Mihai Sinevici, Bruno Roschnafski and Mircea Cristescu; all national team players, cumulated with a progress in training and preparations under the coaching duo of Gheorghe Roman and Liviu Morariu. It did not take long for the results to show on the court, the students establishing themselves as title contenders during the 1990–91 season, while also managing to defeat Panionios Athens (a strong representative of Greek basketball at that time) in the first round of the FIBA Korać Cup. Unfortunately for them, the season would end in disappointment, following a best-of-three play-off final defeat against Steaua Bucharest.

Their performances during the previous campaign would bring a new premiere for The White and Blacks: their first ever participation in the FIBA European Cup, entering to compete in the second round of the 1991-92 season against Pau-Orthez. In the first leg, Universitatea managed a famous home win against the French team, 107–101. However, it wasn't enough to advance for the next round, Pau-Orthez winning the reverse leg by eleven. On the domestic front there would be no mistakes this time. With the presence of the best two centers in the league in their roster (Ghiță Mureșan and Bruno Roschnafski), and the addition of Marcel Țenter at point guard, Universitatea won the first title in their history after a play-off final against Dinamo Bucharest, becoming the first team from outside the capital to be crowned as Romanian Champions.

The following season would see the departures of Mureșan and Roschnafski from the team, to France and Germany respectively, and the addition of Cornel Geomolean. Mureșan would become the first Romanian to play in the NBA, by signing with the Washington Bullets in 1993. He played six successful seasons with the Bullets and the New Jersey Nets; with career averages of 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists, and he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award following the 1995–96 NBA season. For The Red Caps, their first domestic championship title would translate into their first participation into the FIBA European League. Entering into the first round, they would lose both legs of their clash against USK Prague. Internally, history would repeat itself during the 1992–93 season with a second consecutive title, again beating Dinamo in the final.

For the 1993–94 season, Gheorghe Roman would fully take charge as head coach. During that campaign, Studenții suffered some setbacks, with short and long-term injuries keeping key players (Sinevici, Cristescu, Olpretean) out of action for some matches. The team managed to reach the play-off final again, going into the best-of-five final clash against Dinamo without home-court advantage. This would prove decisive in the end, Dinamo winning the final 3–2. The following season, the team came in third, representing the first season in five years in which they did not reach the final. By then, the team had the financial support of SM Invest (playing under the name "U" SM Invest), which would go on to bring much needed resources heading into the 1995–96 season. Decisive would also prove to be the appointment of Dragan Petričević as head coach in January 1996, the Bosnian becoming the first ever foreigner to coach in Romania, at only 27 years old. Everything culminated in a best-of-five play-off final against Steaua Bucharest. It was 1–1 after the first two games in Cluj, and 2–2 after the next two games in Bucharest. The decider took place back in Cluj, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Horia Demian Sports Hall. The match ended 86–75 in favour of the home team, Universitatea becoming Romanian champions for the third time. What followed was another participation in the newly rebranded FIBA EuroCup, with no notable results. In January 1997, after just one year spent coaching Universitatea, Dragan Petričević decided to leave the club, signing a contract with Politehnica Iași.

After this period of success, the team went through times of unrest and concern. Beginning with the 1997–98 season, the city of Cluj had two teams in Divizia A: Carbochim and Universitatea (now under the name ”U” Sanex Cluj-Napoca). The White and Blacks ended that year's championship in sixth, while Carbochim finished in third. The two teams merged that summer, under the name “U”Carbochim Cluj-Napoca, while ex-player Gabriel Olpretean took over as head coach. Studenții managed a third-place finish in the 1998–99 season, to end a decade in which they managed seven top three finishes, including three Romanian Championship titles.

Parting ways with the parent club. Influx of foreign players (2000-2010)

The turn of the new millennium saw a lot of changes for the club, which were going to impact its future both in terms of performances and identity. Mircea Cristescu and Dorin Pintea returned to the club as players in January 2000. They both retired that summer, Pintea tooking the role of assistant coach, while Cristescu became the new team manager. However, the biggest change would happen one year later, when the basketball team parted ways with the parent sports club, going under the care of a private investiture. This decision was motivated as a way to facilitate the growth of the team, which had its prospects limited under the umbrella of the parent club. The basketball club kept its tie with the Universitatea Cluj brand through a collaboration protocol signed with the sports club in 2009 and later through an image partnership agreed with FC Universitatea Cluj in 2017. However, the parent club later chose to reestablish its basketball section, claiming all the trophies won before the split as part of its own records.

The beginning of the 2000s also saw the first additions of foreign players to the team's roster, Serbian swingman Dejan Dukovčić becoming the first foreigner in history to represent the club, in 2002. Other players from former Yugoslav countries would join the club in the following years; like Predrag Mijušković, Zoran Krstanović, Miljan Medvedj and Branko Ćuić, while LeVar Seals became the first ever American to play for Cluj, in 2005. This period would also see the addition of a number of younger players to the roster, formed at CSS Viitorul Cluj under the tutelage of Voicu Moldovan: Paul Chetreanu, Mihai Racovițan, and most notably Mihai Silvășan, who would become the captain and later head coach of the team.

During this transitional period the results were mixed, the team finishing as high as fourth in the domestic championship. However, this result; obtained during the 2004–05 season, meant a return to continental competitions after nine years, The White and Blacks entering to compete in the FIBA EuroCup Challenge for the 2005–06 season. The summer of 2005 also saw the return of Bruno Roschnafsky to the team, after he played in Germany for thirteen years. Under the command of head coach Miodrag Perišić, the team managed one win and three losses in the regular season of the EuroCup Challenge. Domestically, they reached the final of the Romanian Cup, while coming second in the league championship. The following season, the students (now playing under the name U-Mobitelco Cluj-Napoca) one-upped themselves in European competitions, performance facilitated by a number of signings, including Marcel Ţenter, who (like Roschnafsky the previous summer) returned to the club from Germany. Finishing the regular season of the 2006–07 FIBA EuroCup Challenge first in their group, with four wins and two losses, the team from Cluj reached the quarterfinal stage, where they lost both legs of their clash against Apollon Limassol. Individually, LeVar Seals ended up as the competition's top scorer, with an average of 22.9 points-per-game. Following the 2006–07 season, Bruno Roschnafsky left the club in order to form his own basketball team: BC Gladiator, while Marcel Ţenter retired as a player, becoming one of Perišić's assistant coaches, alongside Dorin Pintea.

2007-2008 season: Baldwin's coaching leaves its mark on the team

In 2007, the EuroCup Challenge was abolished, which meant that the Cluj team entered to compete in the second preliminary round of the FIBA EuroCup, for the 2007-08 season. This was less significant on the court; U-Mobitelco losing both legs of their clash against PAOK Thessaloniki, but more significant off it, PAOK's head coach Tab Baldwin choosing to quit the Greek team and join Cluj in December. Baldwin; who managed to lead the New Zealand national basketball team to a FIBA World Cup semifinal in 2002, later said that he decided to join Cluj because he was impressed with the club's fans, structure and hunger for performances, while being disappointed with PAOK's lack of direction for their club. Domestically, the influence of the American head coach showed on the court, U-Mobitelco finishing the regular season of the league championship with ten wins on the bounce. In the play-offs, The White and Blacks defeated Gaz Metan Mediaș in the quarterfinals and CSU Sibiu in the semifinals (losing once against each of them), to set up a best-of-seven final against CSU Asesoft Ploiești. Going into the final without home-court advantage, U-Mobitelco managed to win Game 1 in Ploiești, 72–81, but later lost Game 4 in Cluj, 75–82. From there, both teams would win their home games, the final ending in Ploiești, following a 82–66 win for Asesoft in Game 7. In terms of individual awards for the campaign, LeVar Seals and Zoran Krstanović were included into the All-Romanian League first team, Mihai Silvășan was elected as the league's Most Improved Player of the Year, while Brad Buckman (who joined the team in January) was the league's statistical leader in blocks.

2008-2009 season: Setbacks and injuries

The summer of 2008 saw a major reshaping of the team's roster in terms of foreign players, Branko Ćuić being the only one who would remain from the previous campaign. LeVar Seals and Miljan Medvedj joined CS Otopeni, while Buckman and Krstanović left to play for teams in Cyprus and the Netherlands. In their place, the club signed no less than six new foreign players, including Adrian Majstrovich and Leon Henry; who joined from the New Zealand NBL, Aleksandar Glintić from Serbia, and Matt Gibson; who played the previous campaign in Venezuela. In terms of domestic players, Levente Szijarto joined from Asesoft Ploiești. Unfortunately, the on court chemistry between the new signings was difficult to achieve, U-Mobitelco missing two of their primary objectives early in the campaign, by being eliminated from the FIBA EuroChallenge by EWE Baskets Oldenburg, and from the Romanian Cup by Asesoft Ploiești. From there, injuries and roster changes would become the norm for the season. Adrian Majstrovich left at the beginning of November, after just three months spent with the club, while Glintić and Mike Kinsella were sidelined with injuries, both of them leaving before the end of the calendar year. The same happened with the American center Steve Rich, who joined the club in November to cover for Glintić's absence, but later suffered an injury himself, leaving the club in December. The winter break saw the return of Zoran Krstanović from the Netherlands, while American center Terrence Roberts and Croatian guard Damir Milačić were added to the team's roster. Unfortunately, a 79–72 defeat against Gaz Metan Mediaș in the final game of the regular season meant that U-Mobitelco would enter the play-off from the fifth position, without home-court advantage. Another injury, suffered by Terrence Roberts would prove decisive in the end, The White and Blacks being eliminated from the play-off quarterfinals by CSU Sibiu. The end of the season saw the departure of Tab Baldwin and the appointment of Marcel Ţenter as head coach.

2009-2010 season: Central European Basketball League runners-up

At the start of the new campaign, most of the foreign players brought the previous summer left, Ćuić and Krstanović opting to stay with the team. Levente Szijarto returned to Asesoft Ploiești. Miljan Medvedj returned from CS Otopeni, David Lawrence joined from Pitești, while Vladan Jocović was a late roster addition at the end of August. In the context of the financial crisis, the team chose not to register for the 2009-10 edition of the FIBA EuroChallenge, instead entering to compete in the second edition of the Central European Basketball League, which contained teams in closer geographical proximity with the city of Cluj. "U" Mobitelco managed to win all four games during the group stage, home and away against both BK Prostějov and Albacomp Fehérvár. The final four took place in Cluj, in early February. The White and Blacks managed to defeat Elba Timișoara in the semifinals, 73-64, but lost the final against Nový Jičín, 78-81, finishing the competition as runners-up. During the final, David Lawrence was taken out early with a knee injury, which later caused him to miss the remainder of the season. In his place, Kyndall Dykes was brought to the team, while Vladan Jocović was dropped to make room for the addition of Robert Thomson. Domestically, "U" Mobitelco reached the quarterfinal stage of the Romanian Cup, where they were eliminated by Asesoft Ploiești. In the Romanian league, the team finished the regular season in first place, losing just five times and managing to beat Asesoft both home and away. The opponents in the play-off quarterfinals were BC Mureș. The team from Târgu Mureș managed to push the series to Game 5 by winning its home games, but "U" Mobitelco took the decider in Cluj, 85-58. In the semifinals, the Cluj team lost its first home game against Elba Timișoara, but later won the next three games in a row, to set up a new league final against Asesoft Ploiești. In Game 1, "U" Mobitelco lost at home, 76-77, with the winning basket for the opponents coming in the final seconds of the game. The second home game would also be lost, this time in a double overtime thriller: 111-113. From there, Asesoft would win its home games too, sweeping the final, 4-0. At the end of the regular season, Zoran Krstanović was elected as both the league's Player of the Year and Center of the Year, while also being included in the All-Romanian League first team, alongside Branko Ćuić.