Viola Reggio Calabria
| Viola Reggio Calabria | |||
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| Nickname | Nero-Arancio (The Black and Oranges) | ||
| Leagues | Serie A2 | ||
| Founded | 1966 | ||
| History |
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| Arena | PalaCalafiore | ||
| Capacity | 8,500 | ||
| Location | Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy | ||
| Team colors | Black and Orange |
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| President | Giusva Branca | ||
| Head coach | Giovanni Benedetto | ||
| Championships | 3 Serie A2 Championships | ||
| Website | ViolaReggioCalabria.it | ||
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Viola Reggio Calabria, known for sponsorship reasons as Bermè Viola Reggio Calabria, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria.
At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former players took part in the 2004 Olympics final. However, Viola was also plagued by financial problems, with the club twice declaring bankruptcy, that later sent it out the Italian elite.
It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season.
The club was founded in 1966 as Cestistica Piero Viola by judge Peppino Viola in honour of his late brother Piero. It started playing in the Serie C that season, replacing AICS Reggio Calabria where Piero Viola had played at that level, finishing ninth. The club would establish itself in the Serie C (renamed Serie B from 1974-75) during the succeeding years. It would reach the professional second division Serie A2 in 1983. After a mid-table finish in its first season, Viola won the league in 1984-85 and earned a promotion to the Serie A. It was relegated after one season, returning in 1989 following a three-year stay in the Serie A2. The newly promoted side had its best ever season for its return to the elite, finishing the regular season in seventh place before losing in the playoff quarterfinals to Pallacanestro Varese, as Viola's Dan Caldwell finished as the league's top scorer.
Carlo Recalcati took over the coaching reins the following season which ended in relegation. The club would bounce back by winning the Serie A2 in 1991-92. It would best its best finish with a sixth place in the 1992-93 Serie A, before a playoff quarterfinals series against Benetton Treviso ended with a disallowed on the buzzer shot that would have tied the game for Viola in the decisive 18 April game. The club made three other playoff appearances the next four seasons (quarterfinals in 1994 and eighth-finals in 1996 and 1997) with another of its players, Brian Oliver, leading the league in scoring during the 1995-96 season. The Cestistica Piero Viola organisation would be declared bankrupt in December 1997 (a bankruptcy later revoked due to irregularities), it was replaced in January 1998 by Basket Viola Reggio Calabria SPA and then by Nuovo Basket Viola Reggio '98 the same year. After a parenthesis in the Serie A2 in 1998-99, the club, counting a young Manu Ginóbili in its ranks, again reached the playoff quarterfinals though they were eliminated by Virtus Bologna.
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