Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division.
History
Fortitudo has for much of its history played second fiddle in its own city to arch rivals Virtus Bologna, with whom it contest the fierce
Bologna Derby
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...
. Fortitudo won its first major trophy in 1998, winning the
Italian Cup
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
.
Fortitudo made the
Italian league
The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...
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
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
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
Košarkaški klub Split ( en, Split Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League.
History
Th ...
in 1977 in their maiden participation. It got to the Euroleague Final four in 1999 (losing in the semifinal against city rivals
Kinder Bologna
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
and in third place game against
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
) 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
The 2007–08 ULEB Cup was the sixth season of the second-tier level European professional club basketball competition, the EuroCup, which is organized by Euroleague Basketball S.L. It was also the last season for the competition under the name ...
.
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
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
The 2020–21 Basketball Champions League was the 5th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs launched and managed by FIBA. The season began on 15 September 2020 and ...
, 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
Domestic competitions
*
Italian League
The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...
Italian Cup
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Serie A2 Basket
Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
* Copa de Andata Carisbo
: Winners (1): 2007
* Via Resa, Italy Invitational Game
: Winners (1): 2007
Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions
Retired numbers
Players
Current roster
Depth chart
Notable players
*
John D. Douglas
John David Douglas (born June 12, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the San Diego Clippers.
Amateur career
A 6'2" (1.88 m) guard from Leighton, Alabama, Dougla ...
* -
George Bucci
George P. Bucci Jr. (born July 9, 1953) is an American former basketball player.
He played collegiately for the Manhattan College.
He was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the third round (52nd pick overall) of the 1975 NBA draft and by the Ne ...
*
Andrea Dallamora
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...
Daniele Albertazzi
Daniele is an Hebrew male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel.
Danièle is a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle.
Men with the given name Daniele
* Daniele Bracciali (born 1978), Italian tennis player
...
*
Moris Masetti Moris may refer to:
People
Given name
* Moris Carrozzieri (born 1980), Italian footballer
* Moris Farhi (born 1935), Turkish author, vice-president of International PEN
* Moris Pfeifhofer (born 1988), Swiss figure skater
* Moris (singer) (born ...
*
Bill Garnett
William Patrick Garnett (born April 22, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round (4th overall) of the 1982 NBA draft. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Garnett is a 6' ...
Vincent Askew
Vincent Jerome Askew (born February 28, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight different teams. A 6'6" guard-forward, Askew played college basket ...
*
Gene Banks
Eugene Lavon Banks (born May 15, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born and raised in Philadelphia.
High School Career and College Recruitment
A 6'7" forward, Banks attended high school in West Philadelphia. Nic ...
*
Chris McNealy Chris McNealy may refer to:
* Chris McNealy (basketball, born 1961), American former National Basketball Association player
* Chris McNealy (basketball, born 1992), American basketball player, son of the above
{{hndis, McNealy, Chris ...
*
Dave Feitl
Dave Scott Feitl (born June 8, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Houston Rockets in the second round (43rd pick overall) of the 1986 NBA draft. A 6'11" center from the University of Texas at El Pa ...
*
Pete Myers
Peter Eddie Myers (born September 15, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and a former assistant coach for the NBA team Chicago Bulls.
Early life and college career
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Myers graduated from William ...
*
Cedrick Hordges
Cedrick Tyrone Hordges (born January 8, 1957) is a retired American basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Denver Nuggets from 1980 to 1982. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls
The Chica ...
Shaun Vandiver
Shaun Garin Vandiver (born June 15, 1968) is a retired American college and professional basketball player and currently an assistant basketball coach for the University of Wyoming. Vandiver served as the head basketball coach at Emporia State Uni ...
Corrado Fumagalli
Corrado Fumagalli (born in Cassano d'Adda, Italy July 27, 1967) is an Italian television presenter.
Career
From 1984 until 1993 he began to djing for various italian radio stations. Before launching his career as a TV presenter he opens in Bergamo ...
*
Dan Gay
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
Alessandro Frosini
Alessandro Frosini (born 22 September 1972) is an Italian former professional basketball player. He was also a member of the Italian national basketball team.Mike Brown
*
Conrad McRae
Conrad Bastien McRae (January 11, 1971 – July 10, 2000) was an American professional basketball player who had a successful career in Europe, for teams in France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. He was also selected by the Washington Bullets, in the s ...
*
Eric Murdock
Eric Lloyd Murdock (born June 14, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round (21st pick overall) of the 1991 NBA draft.
Biography
Murdock grew up in Bridgewater Township, New ...
Giacomo Galanda
Giacomo "Jack" Galanda (born 30 January 1975) is a retired Italian professional basketball player. He was a forward-center of 2.10 m. (6 ft. 10¾ in.) and 110 kg. (243 lbs.).
Professional career
Galanda was born in Udine, Friuli. H ...
David Rivers
Not to be confused with David Foote Rivers
David Lee Rivers (born January 20, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'2" (1.88 m ) tall point guard, he reached star status in the EuroLeague, mainly while play ...
Gianluca Basile
Gianluca Basile (born 24 January 1975) is an Italian former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.92 m (6'3 ") tall and a weight of 95 kg (210 lbs.), he mainly played at the shooting guard position. He is considered one of th ...
Anthony Bowie
Anthony Lee Bowie (born November 9, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a former NBA shooting guard, most renowned for his stint with the Orlando Magic. With the Magic, Bowie became one of the top bench players, of ...
*
Eddie Gill
Edward Gill III (born August 16, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Gill was born played college basketball at the College of Eastern Utah, Salt Lake Community College, and Weber State University. With the Weber State Wil ...
Emilio Kovačić
Emilio Kovačić (born January 11, 1968 in Zadar) is a Croatian professional basketball scout and former player. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10) tall, he was a center with great rebounding skills and decent defensive abilities. He played for many ye ...
Anthony Goldwire
Anthony Goldwire (born September 6, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He played in the National Basketball Association, NBA, and other leagues. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, he played colle ...
*
Dan McClintock
Daniel Raymond McClintock (born April 19, 1977) is a retired American professional basketball player at the center position. He is 7'0" and weighs 260 lb.
He attended Northern Arizona University before being selected with the 53rd overall pi ...
*
Marko Milič
Marko Milič (born May 7, 1977) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Slovenian national basketball team.
Professional career
After being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1997 NBA draft (34th pic ...
Stefano Mancinelli
Stefano Mancinelli (born March 17, 1983) is an Italian professional basketball player for Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A. He also represented the Italian national basketball team. Standing at , he plays at the small forward and power ...
A. J. Guyton
Arthur James "A. J." Guyton (born February 12, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and now basketball coach. He played college basketball for Indiana University.
Indiana University
Guyton chose to play basketball for the ...
*
Luboš Bartoň
Luboš Bartoň (born 7 April 1980) is a Czech professional basketball coach. He is a 2.02 m tall small forward who last played for FC Barcelona Bàsquet B, FC Barcelona B of Spain's second division.
College career
Bartoň played college basketbal ...
Mate Skelin
Don Skelira (born December 13, 1974) and is a Croatian basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for Cedevita Junior of the Croatian League.
Post-playing career
In 2015, Cedevita head coach Veljko Mrsic named Skelin as ...
*
Davor Marcelić
Davor Marcelić (born 20 May 1969) is a Croatian retired professional basketball player who last played for KK Krka
Košarkarski klub Krka (English: Basketball Club Krka), commonly referred to as KK Krka or simply Krka, is a professional basket ...
Miloš Vujanić
Miloš Vujanić ( sr-cyr, Милош Вујанић; born November 13, 1980) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. A two-time All-EuroLeague selection, he won the EuroLeague championship with Panathinaikos, in 2007.
Pro ...
*
Hanno Möttölä
Hanno Aleksanteri Möttölä (born 9 September 1976) is a Finnish former professional basketball player. Möttölä played for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA), at the power forward position, where he became the first ...
*
Dalibor Bagarić
Dalibor Bagarić (born July 2, 1980) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He had a stint with the NBA's Chicago Bulls from 2000 to 2003.
Professional career
A 7'1" (2.17 m) center born in Munich, West Germany, Bagarić had average ...
*
Amal McCaskill
Amal Omari McCaskill (born October 28, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player, at the center position.
After a four-year career at Marquette University, McCaskill was selected by the National Basketball Association's Orlando ...
*
Ruben Douglas
Ruben Enrique Douglas (born October 30, 1979) is a Panamanian-American professional basketball player. He is a 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 210 lb (95 kg) point guard-shooting guard.
High school
Douglas played high school basketball at Bell ...
*
Nate Green
Nate Green (born December 2, 1977) is a current NBA referee and retired American basketball player who played professionally in the Australian National Basketball League, the NBA Development League and Italy's Lega Serie A.
Green, a 6'5" guard ...
*
Sani Bečirovič
Sani Bečirovič ( sh, Sani Bečirović, born 19 May 1981) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach, executive and former player, who is currently a sporting director for Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League, ABA League and the EuroCup ...
*
Yakhouba Diawara
Yakhouba Diawara (born August 29, 1982) is a French former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Southern Idaho and Pepperdine.
Early career
Diawara started his career with French team JDA Dijon, and after his first sea ...
*
Kiwane Garris
Kiwane Lemorris Garris (born September 24, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He was listed as a 6'2" (1.88 m), 183 lb (83 kg) point guard.
Garris played college basketball at the University of Illinois, where h ...
*
Travis Watson
Travis Watson (born March 20, 1981) is an American professional basketball player. A 2.03 m tall power forward, he led the 2007–08 EuroLeague in rebounds with 9.7 per game while playing for Olimpia Milano.
College career
Watson played college ...
* -
David Bluthenthal
David Blu (born David Bluthenthal; July 18, 1980) is an American–Israeli former professional basketball player, who spent 10 seasons playing in the EuroLeague. Standing at , he played at the small forward and power forward positions. He is c ...
*
Alain Digbeu
Alain Digbeu (born November 13, 1975) is a French former professional basketball player. He was drafted by the NBA pro club the Atlanta Hawks with the 49th pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He is 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) in height and 220 lb (100&n ...
Goran Jurak
Goran Jurak (born 3. April 1977 in Celje, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Slovenia)) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player.
He plays the position of Power forward. He played in the Slovenian All Star Game 1999 through 2002. He was ...
*
Jérôme Moïso
Jérôme Moïso (born 15 June 1978) is a French former professional basketball player.
College career
He played college basketball at UCLA with the UCLA Bruins.
Professional career
A forward-center who has played in the NBA, Moïso was selected ...
*
Moochie Norris
Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push ...
*
Preston Shumpert
Preston Anthony Shumpert (20 August 1979), also known by his Turkish name of Mert Shumpert, is an American-born, naturalised-Turkish professional basketball player. He was twice named to the All-Big East first team while playing college basketball ...
*
Kristaps Janičenoks
Kristaps Janičenoks (born March 14, 1983) is a Latvian professional basketball player who currently plays for VEF Rīga. He also plays for the Latvian national basketball team.
Playing career
Janičenoks first gained attention as a high scoring ...
Kieron Achara
Kieron Robert Nnamdi Achara MBE (born 3 July 1983) is a Scottish professional basketball player who last played for the Glasgow Rocks. He is a 6'10" (2.08 m) forward who played college basketball at Duquesne University and represented Scotland a ...
*
Jamont Gordon
Jamont Gordon (born March 16, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the Mississippi State University, Mississippi State Bulldogs. At Glencliff Comprehensive High School, Gordon was named 2004 TSSAA class 3A T ...
*
Uroš Slokar
Uroš Slokar (; born May 14, 1983) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player who last played for Pallacanestro Cantù of the Lega Basket Serie A.
Professional career
After playing two seasons in the Slovenian basketball league, Slokar ...
D. J. Strawberry
Darryl Eugene "D. J." Strawberry Jr. (born June 15, 1985) is an American-born naturalized Cameroonian professional basketball player for Zamalek SC of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. He is the son of former Major League Baseball player Darryl ...
*
Lazaros Papadopoulos
Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During hi ...
*
Davide Lamma Davide is an Italian given name (common) and an Italian/Filipino surname (relatively rare), and may refer to:
Given name
* Davide Alviti (born 1996), Italian basketball player
* Davide Ancilotto (1974–1997), Italian basketball player
* Davide ...
*
Marco Carraretto
Marco Carraretto (born October 27, 1977) is an Italian former professional basketball player for Fortitudo Bologna and other teams in Italy. He is a 1.97 m (6 ft 5¾ in) tall, 95 kg shooting guard-small forward.
Professional career
Ca ...
*
Stefano Mancinelli
Stefano Mancinelli (born March 17, 1983) is an Italian professional basketball player for Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A. He also represented the Italian national basketball team. Standing at , he plays at the small forward and power ...
Alberto Bucci
Alberto Bucci (25 May 1948 – 9 March 2019) was an Italian professional basketball coach who served as president of Virtus Bologna from 2016 to 2019. Having won three Italian championships and four Italian Cups, Bucci was widely considered one ...
(1974)
* Aza Nikolić (1974–1976)
* John McMillen (1976–1980)
* Mauro Di Vincenzo (1980–1981)
* Dodo Rusconi (1981–1983)
*
Rudy D'Amico
Rudy D'Amico (born August 18, 1940) is a National Basketball Association (NBA) scout, and former college basketball and professional coach. He was the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and he led them to the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) ...
(1983)
* Francesco Zucchini and Andrea Sassoli (1983–1984)
* Andrea Sassoli (1984–1988)
* Mauro Di Vincenzo (1988–1990)
*
Stefano Pillastrini
Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...
Matteo Boniciolli
Matteo Boniciolli (born 18 April 1962) is an Italian basketball coach of APU Udine in the Italian Serie A2.
He has been a head coach since 1999, guiding several clubs in Italy and abroad to titles, also having taken charge of the Italian nati ...
(2001-2002)
*
Jasmin Repeša
Jasmin Repeša (born 1 June 1961) is a Bosnian-born Croatian professional basketball coach and former player whose last coached team was Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Serie A.
Repeša has won numerous pro club competitions during his head coa ...
(2002-2006)
*
Fabrizio Frates
Fabrizio Frates (Milan, July 16, 1959) is an Italian basketball coach.
Career Cantù & Treviso
Frates become head coach of Clear Cantù just over in his thirty years, in the 1990-91 season and won the FIBA Korać Cup that year ( 1990–91 FIBA ...
Andrea Mazzon
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...
Cesare Pancotto
Cesare Pancotto (born January 8, 1955) is an Italian professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for Napoli Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Coaching career
After a good career spent playing point guard in his native ...
Matteo Boniciolli
Matteo Boniciolli (born 18 April 1962) is an Italian basketball coach of APU Udine in the Italian Serie A2.
He has been a head coach since 1999, guiding several clubs in Italy and abroad to titles, also having taken charge of the Italian nati ...
Antimo Martino
Antimo Martino (born 16 August 1978) is an Italian basketball coach, currently managing Pallacanestro Forlì 2.015 in the Lega Serie A2. He has also served as the head coach for Fortitudo Bologna.
Career
Antimo Martino started his coach-career w ...
Luca Dalmonte
Luca Dalmonte (born 3 October 1963) is an Italian professional basketball coach, currently serving as the head coach of Fortitudo Bologna in Lega Serie A2.
From 2013-2015 he was head coach of Virtus Roma in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A and has a ...
(2020-21, 2022-)
Sponsorship names
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–present)