Royale Association Sportive Maccabi Brussels (Hebrew: רויאל האיגוד הספורטיבי מכבי בריסל), founded in 1953, is a multi-sports club based in Brussels, Belgium with basketball, football, table tennis, volleyball teams.
History
The club was founded as Maccabi Etterbeek in 1953 from the Jewish Community of Brussels.
Names
1976-1983: R.A.S Maccabi Etterbeek
1983-1984 : R.A.S. Assumar Maccabi Etterbeek
1984-1986 : R.A.S. Maccabi Panasonic Brussel
1986-1987 : R.A.S. Orgaburo Maccabi Brussel
1987-1988 : R.A.S Maccabi Etterbeek
1988-1992 : R.A.S. Maccabi Brussel
1992-1996 : Basket Brussels
1996-1997 : Belgacom Brussels
1997-2002 : Atomics Brussels
Basketball
The basketball department of the club has won two Belgian cups in 1983–84 and 1987–88 (against BC Verviers 80-64 and Mariandenne 72-71). In 1985-86 the team finished 2nd in the league [1] after losing 3-1 in the Finals against Sunair Oostende.
Maccabi's rise began in the early 1980s. Thanks to the available financial resources, the club was able to attract coach John Van Crombruggen and become champions in the second division in the 1982/83 season, and reach the final of the Belgian Cup.
The signing of Cherokee Rhone, on loan from Verviers, led Maccabi to the fourth place and participation in the play-offs in the 1983/84 season in the First division and also won the Belgian Cup against BC Verviers. In 1984 the club moved from the hall in Etterbeek to the South Palace in Brussels.
The first financial problems began to surface in the early 1990s. At the end of the 2000/01 season, Atomics Brussels was relegated to the second division. The 2001/02 season started thanks to support from the municipality of Brussels. However before the 2002/03 season, the club went into liquidation. Youth players who were without a team moved to Basket Club Bruxellois, later Royal Atomia Brussels