As a young team backed by an extraordinary story and a fan support that is above and beyond anything seen recently in the UK, the Guildford Heat are ready to make their ULEB Cup debut and keep taking giant steps to put Great Britain back on the European basketball map. The first major team in town were the Guildford Pirates, who stayed there from 1975 to 1982 before moving to Bracknell, where it went through a name change to the Thames Valley Tigers, and won the 1994 English Championship.  In April 2005 however, the club folded and a group of fans were determined to save the club. Mike Davies became their leader and this group took over the administration of the club, something unprecedented in modern day basketball. The team did not meet the deadline to be admitted to the 2005-06 British Basketball League (BBL), but the new administration got in touch with the league headquarters and both parts agreed to enter a new team to replace the Tigers. In just a question of months, not only was elite basketball saved in the area, but the Guildford Heat was created, ready to compete in the BBL. The Heat soon put together a competitive roster, led by superstar Brian Dux and also featuring Chad McKnight and Ajou Deng. The club had a respectable British Basketball League debut, finishing the regular season fifth at 20-20 while reaching the semifinals in both the Trophy and the Playoffs. In its second season, the club became the Poujoulat Heat Guildford with its new sponsor and titles on the court started to arrive. The Heat won its first trophy in January 2007, downing the Scottish Rocks 81-78 in the BBL Cup Final. Daniel Gilbert, Dux and Mike Martin continued to lead the Heat throughout an outstanding regular season that ended in the best way possible, as a 114-85 win over London United at the Guildford Spectrum allowed the club to win the league title. With a modern organisation and unmatched fan support, the Heat hope to keep rewriting British basketball history in its ULEB Cup debut season.