The Italian Basketball Supercup ( it, Supercoppa Italiana di Pallacanestro), also known as

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

Supercoppa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

super cup competition. From the 2020 Supercup edition, all the teams of LBA took part in the competition. Created in 1995, it is organised by the Lega Basket – who run the LBA and the Italian Cup – in partnership with RCS Sport, and it traditionally opens the season.

History

The 2014 edition of the Supercup was played on October 4 and 5, at

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island ...

's PalaSerradimigni, in a final four format.

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 T ...

and

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 It ...

runners-up

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, t ...

(also defending champions), did not participate, after declaring bankruptcy over the summer. Italian League champions

EA7 Emporio Armani 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 ...

, comfortably dispatched

Enel Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Happy Casa Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. It plays in the first division LBA in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 2004, the well- ...

(third in the 2014 cup), by a score of 71–59, in the first semifinal, on the back of Linas Kleiza's and

Joe Ragland Joseph Alexander Ragland (born November 11, 1989) is an American-Liberian professional basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for North Platte Community College and Wichita State ...

's long-distance shooting (17 and 16 points respectively), in a mistake-strewn game. The other semifinal saw cup-holders

Banco di Sardegna Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

, have an easy 89–73 win over Acea Roma (league semifinalist), with the hosts always leading, and Sassari

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

Romeo Sacchetti, rotating his squad. The final saw Sassari add a second title to their prior cup win, by downing Milano 96–88. The

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

ns started the game on the front foot, leading the first quarter, 29–14, while Milano struggled to score (0-for-6 from three). They continued to drive the game at the start of the second quarter, but Milano found a way back into the game, thanks to stronger defense and a stellar MarShon Brooks, to answer with a 15–0 run from, 36-18 down, with Sassari then finding their scoring shoes to finish the half 50–40. Three's from Ragland and Kleiza helped Milano claw back at the lead, but Brooks missed the shot to equalise, with the quarter ending on 72–68. Sassari would stay in front for the rest of the game, with Supercup MVP Jerome Dyson entertaining the fans. Brooks led all scorers with 26 points, followed for Milano by Ragland (17) and Kleizia (16), whilst Dyson paced the winners with 25, and three other players had 14 points. The 2015 edition took place in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

's PalaRuffini, on 26 and 27 September. It pitted

(both league and cup holders) against Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia (league runners-up) and

(cup finalist and league semifinalist) against Umana Reyer Venezia (league semifinalist) in the semifinals.

Format

In 2000, the Supercup was organised on a bigger scale, with all but one of the Serie A and Serie A2 teams participating (

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria was 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 play ...

were caught up in a tournament in Buenos Aires), with the league and cup holders already qualified for the semifinals. The next year, the four best-ranked teams in the league took part in a Supercup final four. The 2014 edition saw the Supercup contested by four squads, with the league champion playing the runner up of the cup, and the cup winner playing the league regular season runner-up (barring that, the next best placed team in the cup and the league are chosen in that order). The format was confirmed for the following editions. In 2020 edition all the teams of LBA took part in the Supercup, due to the early conclusion of the 2019–20 LBA season caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The competition consists of 4 round robin groups that qualify 4 teams to the Final Four that was held in Bologna at the Segafredo Arena. The format was confirmed for the 2021 edition, with a Final Eight in place of a Final Four.

Media scrutiny

Some observers have derided the Italian Basketball Supercup as a, "minor trophy", in contrast to the

. Journalist's such as the Corriere di Bologna's, Daniele Labanti, and

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's Paolo Corio, reacted to the low spectator turnout at the 2014 edition (as part of a general trend), organised in

, by unfavorably comparing its appeal to that of the top level

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 T ...

, the top level Italian Cup, and the EuroLeague (in which the home team would be involved). The formula and venue was also criticised, with calls to organise a single final, in a city bereft of a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

club basketball (such as

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

), or even abroad, in the manner of the Italian football Supercup.

Title holders

Mens Sana are the record-holders with seven cups,

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

and

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ha ...

follow with four titles, Virtus Bologna have participated in the most finals (11), winning the cup three times. * 1995: Buckler Beer Bologna * 1996: Riello Mash Verona * 1997: Benetton Treviso * 1998:

Teamsystem Bologna 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. Hist ...

* 1999:

Varese Roosters Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

* 2000: Aeroporti di Roma Virtus * 2001: Benetton Treviso * 2002: Benetton Treviso * 2003: Oregon Scientific Cantù * 2004:

* 2005: Climamio Bologna * 2006: Benetton Treviso * 2007:

* 2008:

* 2009:

* 2010:

* 2011:

* 2012: Lenovo Cantù * 2013: ''

'' (revoked)Following an investigation for accounting and fiscal fraud, the Italian Basketball Federation revoked all the domestic titles won by the club during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons. * 2014:

* 2015: Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia * 2016:

* 2017:

* 2018:

AX Armani Exchange 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 ...

* 2019:

* 2020:

* 2021: Virtus Segafredo Bologna * 2022: Virtus Segafredo Bologna

The finals

*Player nationalities by national team. Note: boxscores from Lega Basket (retrieved 21 September 2021)

Performance by club

References

External links

Results from Lega Basket
Retrieved 14 September 2015 {{European basketball cups Annual sporting events in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1995 1995 establishments in Italy

Supercup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the pre ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Professional sports leagues in Italy