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Fortitudo Bologna

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For the baseball team, see Fortitudo Baseball Bologna.
Fortitudo Bologna
2023–24 Fortitudo Bologna season
Fortitudo Bologna logo
LeaguesSerie A2
Founded1932 (original)
2013 (re-founded)
HistoryFortitudo Bologna
(1939–2012)
Fortitudo Bologna 103
(2013–present)
ArenaPalaDozza
Capacity5,570
LocationBologna, Italy
Team colorsWhite and blue
   
PresidentStefano Tedeschi
Team managerNicolò Basciano
Head coachAttilio Caja
OwnershipNewCo Sporting Fortitudo S.r.l.
Championships2 Italian Leagues
1 Italian Cup
2 Italian Supercups
1 Italian LNP Cup
Websitefortitudo103.it

Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna for sponsorship reasons,[1] is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division.

History

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Fortitudo has for much of its history played second fiddle in its own city to arch rivals Virtus Bologna, with whom it contests the fierce Bologna Derby. Fortitudo won its first major trophy in 1998, winning the Italian Cup.

Fortitudo made the Italian league finals ten consecutive years (1997–2006). 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 FIBA 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 Tel Aviv 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 2007–08 ULEB Cup.

Due to economic irregularities, upon Fortitudo's relegation from the 2008–09 season, the team was not allowed to participate in the 2009–10 Serie A2, restarting from the Serie A dilettanti. After winning that league, Fortitudo was once again excluded from Serie A2 and the club's affiliation to the Italian Federation revoked. As such, Fortitudo was barred from playing in any league, save for youth development leagues.

The Rebirth and return to the top flight

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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 played during the 2015–16 season.

After a successful campaign in 2018–19, the club qualified for promotion to Serie A for the first time since its 2009 dissolution. They later qualified to the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League, but they finished last in their group. In the 2021–22 season, they finished in the 15th position to be relegated to Serie A2.

Honours

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Domestic competitions

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Winners (2): 1999–00, 2004–05
Winners (1): 1997–98
Winners (2): 1998, 2005

European competitions

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Runners-up (1): 2003–04
Semifinalists (1): 2000–01
4th place (1): 1998–99
Final Four (2): 1999, 2004
Runners-up (1): 1976–77
Semifinalists (1): 1995–96

Other competitions

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  • Copa de Andata Carisbo
Winners (1): 2007
  • Via Resa, Italy Invitational Game
Winners (1): 2007

Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions

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Main article: Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna in European and worldwide competitions
Season Achievement Notes
EuroLeague
1996–97 Quarter-finals eliminated 2–1 by FC Barcelona, 70–65 (W) in Bologna, 73–75 (L) in Barcelona and 62–87 (L) in Bologna
1997–98 Quarter-finals eliminated 2–0 by Kinder Bologna, 52–64 (L) in Bologna away, 56–58 (L) in Bologna home
1998–99 Final Four 4th place in Munich, lost to Kinder Bologna 57–62 in the semi-final, lost to Olympiacos 63–74 in the 3rd place game
1999–00 Quarter-finals eliminated 2–1 by Maccabi Tel Aviv, 65–62 (W) in Tel Aviv, 73–80 (L) in Bologna and 64–79 (L) in Tel Aviv
2000–01 Semi-finals eliminated 3–0 by Kinder Bologna, 76–103 (L) in Bologna away, 84–92 (L) in Bologna away and 70–74 (L) in Bologna home
2003–04 Final defeated Montepaschi Siena 103–102 in the semi-final, lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 74–118 in the final (Tel Aviv)
FIBA Korać Cup
1976–77 Final lost to Jugoplastika 84–87 in the final (Genoa)
1994–95 Quarter-finals eliminated by Alba Berlin, 73–77 (L) in Berlin and 80–80 (D) in Bologna
1995–96 Semi-finals eliminated by Efes Pilsen, 78–102 (L) in Istanbul and 97–91 (W) in Bologna

Retired numbers

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Fortitudo Bologna retired numbers
No Nat. Player Position Tenure Date retired Ref.
13 United States Gary Schull C 1968–1973 2010 [2]

Players

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Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Fortitudo Bologna roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age
SG 1 United States Banks, Adrian 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 38 – (1986-02-09)9 February 1986
SG 4 Italy Aradori, Pietro 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 35 – (1988-12-09)9 December 1988
C 10 Italy Barbante, Simone 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 25 – (1999-08-29)29 August 1999
PG 11 Italy Panni, Alessandro 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 32 – (1991-12-27)27 December 1991
SG 19 Slovenia Vašl, Miha 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 32 – (1992-03-02)2 March 1992
F/C 20 Italy Candussi, Francesco 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 30 – (1994-02-23)23 February 1994
PG 21 Italy Fantinelli, Matteo (C) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 30 – (1993-11-24)24 November 1993
SG 23 Senegal Niang, Saliou 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – (2004-05-14)14 May 2004
SF 31 Italy Italiano, Nazzareno 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 33 – (1991-07-15)15 July 1991
PF 32 Italy Cucci, Valerio 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 29 – (1995-01-19)19 January 1995
Head coach
  • Italy Matteo Angori
Assistant coach(es)
  • Italy Matteo Tasini
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 16 May 2023

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C Francesco Candussi SImone Barbante
PF Valerio Cucci Nazzareno Italiano
SF Pietro Aradori Saliou Niang
SG Adrian Banks Miha Vašl
PG Matteo Fantinelli Alessandro Panni

(colours: Italian or homegrown players; foreign players; young players)

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Players at the NBA draft

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# Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game
Position Player Year Round Pick Drafted by
SG Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Marko Jarić 2000 1st round 30th Los Angeles Clippers
SF/SG Argentina Carlos Delfino 2003 1st round 25th Detroit Pistons
PF/C Slovenia Erazem Lorbek# 2005 2nd round 46th Indiana Pacers
SG/SF Italy Marco Belinelli 2007 1st round 18th Golden State Warriors
SG/SF Italy Gabriele Procida 2022 2nd round 36th Portland Trail Blazers

Head coaches

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Sponsorship names

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Throughout the years, due to sponsorship, the club has been known as :

  • Cassera Bologna (1966–68)
  • Eldorado Bologna (1968–71)
  • Alco Bologna (1971–78)
  • Mercury Bologna (1978–80)
  • I&B Bologna (1980–81)
  • Lattesole Bologna (1981–83)
  • Yoga Bologna (1983–88)
  • Arimo Bologna (1988–90)
  • Aprimatic Bologna (1990–91)
  • Mangiaebevi Bologna (1991–93)
  • Filodoro Bologna (1993–95)
  • Teamsystem Bologna (1995–99)
  • Paf Wennington Bologna (1999–01)
  • Skipper Bologna (2001–04)
  • Climamio Bologna (2004–07)
  • UPIM Bologna [Domestically] (2007–08)
    • Beghelli Bologna [European competition] (2007–08)
  • GMAC Bologna [Domestically] (2008–09)
    • Fortitudo Bologna [European competition] (2008–09)
  • Amori Bologna (2009–10)
  • Tulipano Impianti Bologna (2013–14)
  • Eternedile Bologna (2014–16)
  • Contatto Bologna (2016–17)
  • Consultinvest Bologna (2017–18)
  • Lavoropiù Fortitudo Bologna (2018–19)
  • Fortitudo Pompea Bologna (2019–20)
  • Lavoropiù Fortitudo Bologna (2020–21)
  • Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna (2021–2023)
  • Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna (2023–present)

References

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  1. ^ "Pompea è il nuovo main sponsor della Fortitudo Bologna" [Pompea is the new main sponsor of Fortitudo Bologna]. sportando.basketball (in Italian). 8 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ Forni, Francesco (25 April 2010). "La Effe aspetta Castelletto poi l' omaggio al Barone" [Fortitudo awaits Castelletto then will honour the Baron]. Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 November 2017.
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