Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna | |||
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Leagues | Serie A2 | ||
Founded | 1929 | ||
History |
Virtus Bologna 1929–present |
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Arena | Unipol Arena | ||
Capacity | 9,513 | ||
Location | Bologna, Italy | ||
Team colors | Black and White |
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President | Alberto Bucci | ||
Head coach | Alessandro Ramagli | ||
Championships |
15 Italian Championships 8 Italian Cups 2 Euroleagues 1 Saporta Cup 1 EuroChallenge 1 Italian Supercup 1 Italian LNP Cup |
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Retired numbers | 3 (4, 5, 10) | ||
Website | virtus.it | ||
Uniforms | |||
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Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Segafredo Virtus Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. It currently plays in the Italian second division Serie A2 Basket.
For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.
Virtus was founded in 1871 as a gymnastics club, forming its first professional basketball team in 1929. It won its first national Serie A title in 1945, adding the next three editions as well. They would add two back to back titles in 1955 and 1956. A 20-year national title drought ended with another championship in 1976, the first of four up to 1984, completing a domestic double the latter year by adding a Cup.
In 1990 they achieved a different double with the domestic cup completemented by the European Cup Winner's Cup, their first European title, beating Real Madrid in the final thanks to an outstanding Micheal Ray Richardson. After nearly a decade, Virtus added the 1993 Serie A, also winning the next two. Led by players such as Predrag Danilović, Zoran Savić and Antoine Rigaudeau the Italians won the 1997–98 FIBA Euroleague, Europe's premier competition, with another domestic title as a bonus.
In 2001 the side went one better, winning the 2000–01 Euroleague (played in competition with a new Euroleague), the Serie A and the Italian Cup to complete a Triple Crown. At the time Virtus had one of the best rosters ever in European basketball with Marko Jarić, Manu Ginóbili, Rigaudeau, Matjaž Smodiš and Rashard Griffith.