Fortitudo Bologna
| Fortitudo Bologna | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Leagues | Nazionale B (3rd) | ||
| Founded | 1932 (2013) | ||
| History | Fortitudo Bologna (1939–2012) Fortitudo Bologna 103 (2013–present) | ||
| Arena | Land Rover Arena (capacity: 5,721) | ||
| Location | Bologna, Italy | ||
| Team colors | White and blue | ||
| Championships | 2 Italian Leagues 1 Italian Cup 2 Italian Supercups | ||
| Website | fortitudobologna.it | ||
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Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103 is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy.
History
Fortitudo has for much of its history played second fiddle in its own city to arch rivals Virtus Bologna. Fortitudo won its first major trophy in 1998, winning the Italian Cup.
Fortitudo made the Italian League championship finals ten consecutive years (1997 through 2006). After three straight finals losses, Fortitudo won the Italian League Championship 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 Euroleague, basketball's equivalent to the Champions League in football. Fortitudo's first achievement in the European competitions was the maiden participation in the 1977 Korać Cup final against Jugoplastika Split. It got to the Euroleague Final four in 1999 (it lost both in semifinal against Kinder Bologna and in third place game against Olympiacos) and the semifinal of Euroleague playoffs in 2001 (again eliminated by the eternal rivals of Virtus); then the club lost in the Euroleague final in 2004 to Maccabi Tel Aviv by 44 points, after defeating Montepaschi Siena on the day before in semifinal. However, they had a subpar 2006-07 season by their recent standards, finishing 13th out of 18 teams after changing coaches no less than three times. They nonetheless made the field for the 2007-08 Eurocup, as most of Italy's entries to that competition are based on performance over a three-year period, and Fortitudo's past performances compensated for their disappointing 2006-07 campaign.
Fortitudo's home arena is Paladozza, also known as the Madison Square Garden of Bologna, which can host approximately 5,700 fans.
Due to financial distress, on 14 July 2012 the FIP officialized the radiation of the club and revokes the affiliate code number 103, not accepting the request from the company. This event marked end of the long history of Fortitudo. On 18 June 2013, a group of local entrepreneurs, professionals and fans have incorporated a new club, Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, which is now enrolled in the Italian minor league DNB. Fortitudo is supported by the largest and most devoted fan base of the entire Italian basketball league. The better known group of fans, Fossa dei Leoni (literally, "Lions' Den") has supported Fortitudo in Italy and Europe since 1970.
Titles
Total titles: 5
Domestic competitions
- Italian Championship
- Winners (2): 2000, 2005
- Italian Cup
- Winners (1): 1998
- Italian Supercup
- Winners (2): 1998-99, 2005–06
European competitions
- Euroleague
- Runners-up (1): 2004
- Korać Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1977
Notable players
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Sponsorship names
Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:[1]
- Cassera (1966–68)
- Eldorado (1968–71)
- Alco (1971–78)
- Mercury (1978–80)
- I&B (1980–81)
- Lattesole (1981–83)
- Yoga (1983–88)
- Arimo (1988–90)
- Aprimatic (1990–91)
- Mangiaebevi (1991–93)
- Filodoro (1993–95)
- Teamsystem (1995–99)
- Paf Wennington (1999-01)
- Skipper (2001–04)
- Climamio (2004–07)
- UPIM (Italian League), Beghelli (Eurocup) (2007–08)
- GMAC (Serie A), no name sponsorship (Eurocup) (2008–09)
- AMORI (2009–10)
- TULIPANO IMPIANTI (2013-14)
References
External links
