Fortitudo Bologna
| Fortitudo Bologna | |||
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| Leagues | Serie A2 (2nd) | ||
| Founded | 1932 (2013) | ||
| History |
Fortitudo Bologna (1939–2012) Fortitudo Bologna 103 (2013–present) |
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| Arena |
Land Rover Arena (capacity: 5,721) |
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| Location | Bologna, Italy | ||
| Team colors | White and blue |
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| Championships |
2 Italian Leagues 1 Italian Cup 2 Italian Supercups |
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| Website | fortitudobologna.it | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103 is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015–16 season.
Fortitudo has for much of its history played second fiddle in its own city to arch rivals Virtus Bologna. Fortitudo won its first major trophy in 1998, winning the Italian Cup.
Fortitudo made the Italian league finals ten consecutive years (1997 through 2006). After three straight finals losses, Fortitudo won the Serie A for the first time in 2000. Four consecutive finals losses were followed by Fortitudo's second league title in 2005, courtesy of a 3-1 win over Armani Jeans Milano in the finals series when instant replay upheld a Ruben Douglas buzzer beater in Game 4 of the championship series.
In recent years, Fortitudo had been a fixture in the European top-tier Euroleague. Fortitudo's first achievement in European competition was a Korać Cup final against Jugoplastika in 1977 in their maiden participation. It got to the Euroleague Final four in 1999 (losing in the semifinal against city rivals Kinder Bologna and in third place game against Olympiacos) and the semifinal of the Euroleague playoffs in 2001 (again eliminated by rivals Virtus); then the club lost in the Euroleague final in 2004 to Maccabi Elite by 44 points. The 2006-07 season saw them change coaches thrice as they finished thirteenth (out of eighteen), though they still qualified for the ULEB Cup 2007-08.
Financial difficulties saw the club's affiliation to the Italian Federation revoked and Fortitudo was barred from playing in any competition. On 18 June 2013, a group of local entrepreneurs, professionals and fans joined to give life to Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, the spiritual successor (with the same fan base such as the Fossa dei Leoni fan group) of the original entity. Starting from the fourth division DNB, Fortitudo climbed to the second division Serie A2 where it will play during the 2015-16 season.
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