After a three-season hiatus, a good showing in the German League paved Artland Dragons Quakenbruk’s way back to the Eurocup for the 2012-13 season. Last season, Artland reached the German League semifinals for the third time in club history after downing mighty FC Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. Artland also did well in the EuroChallenge by making it to the quarterfinal playoffs and losing only to eventual champion Besiktas Milangaz. Born as QTSV Quakenbruck in 1955, the club bounced around the German minor leagues for more than 15 years before breaking into Germany's second division. Within a decade, Artland made a jump all the way to the first division, too. Now better known as the Dragons, the club has made its presence in the German League felt lately by reaching the German League playoff quarterfinals in 2005 and semifinals in 2006. The next season boosted the trend further as, despite finishing as the last German League playoff qualifier, the spot Dragons upset regular-season champ Alba Berlin in the quarterfinals and rallied all the way to the finals, where it was finally upended by Brose Baskets Bamberg. Far from being done, the Dragons returned to win the 2008 German Cup by beating Ludwigsburg in the title game, and to make a smashing European debut. Despite being a newcomer to European competitions, the Dragons survived the ULEB Cup regular season and shocked everyone by downing mighty Triumph Lyubertsy of Russia in the Last 32 round before Unics Kazan stopped its run just short of the Final Eight. Artland returned to the Eurocup in 2008-09 and reached the Last 16. The club missed the German League playoffs for two seasons but had a return-to-form performance in 2010-11 when it finished the regular season with a 23-11 record and reached the semifinals before losing 3-2 against defending and eventual champ Brose Baskets. Artland consolidated its good results in 2011-12 and now looks forward to a brighter future, while hoping to do well in its much-anticipated Eurocup return.

German Cup 2008