Virtus Roma

History

The club was formed by the merger of two Roman sides, San Saba and Gruppo Borgo Cavalleggeri, under the name Virtus Aurelia in the late 1960s, the founding date of San Saba, 1960, was kept as Virtus'. In 1972, Virtus Aurelia merged with GS Banco di Roma, the sporting wing of Banco di Roma, forming Pallacanestro Banco di Roma Virtus or simply Banco di Roma. The side reached the Italian second division in 1978, staying two years before moving up to the Italian top level LBA, in 1980.

This was the start of an extended stay in the first division, and success followed soon after, with the side winning the 1983 championship. Earning a place in the 1983–84 FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague), Virtus went on to win the competition at its first try, with a Larry Wright led squad, that also had Clarence Kea, Renzo Tombolato, and Fulvio Polesello. Wright was decisive in the EuroLeague Final against FC Barcelona, scoring 27 points, as Roma overturned a 10-point halftime deficit to win the decider. The next season, the Italian club won the 1984 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, after topping a group of international clubs in Brazil. Roma also won the 1985–86 FIBA Korać Cup final against Mobilgirgi Caserta.

The club's next title was the 1991–92 FIBA Korać Cup, by which time Banco di Roma had been replaced as the club's sponsor by Il Messaggero. A squad comprising Dino Rađa, Rick Mahorn, Roberto Premier, and Andrea Niccolai downed Scavolini Pesaro in the two-legged final. The next year, Virtus managed to reach the FIBA Korać Cup final again, but lost the game against Philips Milano. During the 2002–03 season, Carlton Myers led the team to a 25–9 record in the Serie A (LBA), as Roma reached the playoff's semifinals. After adding Dejan Bodiroga as a player, and head coach Svetislav Pešić, in the 2005 off-season, Virtus reached the ULEB Cup (EuroCup) quarterfinals, the Serie A semifinals, and the Italian Cup final, that it lost in overtime.

In the summer of 2011, the Italian club's EuroLeague A-license was suspended, after it finished in the bottom half of the Serie A. The next year, it lost the license completely, after having the worst record among A license clubs. It lost its license to EA7 Emporio Armani Milano.

In a strange twist, Virtus Roma then went on to have an excellent season, unexpectedly, by their own admission, reaching the Serie A finals, which would earn it the right to return to the EuroLeague. However, the club relinquished their rights, as they did not agree to some of the competition's requirements. In particular, paying rent for an arena with the minimum arena capacity. They thus earned a place in the second tier EuroCup instead.

In July 2015, despite having satisfied the economic conditions to participate in the Italian top level LBA, the club's management asked to participate instead in the Italian second division Serie A2. The permission to do so was granted by the Italian Basketball Federation. The cited motive for the move to the lower division, was an insufficient budget to be competitive at the higher level, and the desire to restructure the club based on a youth policy.

On April 23, 2019, after beating Legnano Knights by 83–88, Virtus Roma is proclaimed champion of the Serie A2, getting the direct promotion to the Serie A. Virtu returns to the highest tier after an absence of four years.

Dissolution

On December 9, 2020, the club withdrew from the Serie A due to financial difficulties and the inability to find a new investor.

Arenas

• Palazzetto dello Sport (seating capacity: 3,500): (1960–1983, 2000–2003, 2011–2018)
• PalaLottomatica: (seating capacity: 11,200): (1983–1999, 2003–2011, 2018–2020)

Virtus played at the 3,500 seating capacity Palazzetto dello Sport arena, until 1983. The club then played at the 11,200 seat PalaLottomatica arena, from 1983 to 2011, except between 2000 and 2003, when the arena was undergoing extensive renovation work.

After the club down scaled its operations costs, due to reduced funds, Virtus found the operating costs of the PalaLottomatica to be prohibitive, and decided to avoid playing in the larger arena. So from 2011 to 2018, it returned to the Palazzetto dello Sport, even playing games there during the 2013 Italian LBA Finals.

On June 9, 2018, Virtus Roma reached a new deal with All Events SpA, the operator of PalaLottomatica, to play at the arena during the Serie A2 2018–19 season.

2020–21 roster

This was the last roster that Roma had in the 2020–21 LBA season before the official withdrawal from the championship.

• ITA Piero Bucchi
• ITA Giuseppe Di Paolo
• ITA Andrea Bonacina

The team would line up as in the shown below. Roma adopted a 6+6 format where a maximum of 6 foreign players along with 6 Italian or Italian grown players could be called for each game.

Honours

Total titles: 6

Domestic competitions

• Italian League : Winners (1): 1982–83 : Runners-up (2): 2007–08, 2012–13
• Italian Cup : Runners-up (2): 1989–90, 2005–06
• Italian Supercup : Winners (1): 2000

European competitions

• EuroLeague : Winners (1): 1983–84
• FIBA Korać Cup (defunct) : Winners (2): 1985–86, 1991–92 : Runners-up (1): 1992–93 : Semifinalists (1): 1997–98
• European Club Super Cup (semi-official, defunct) : Runners-up (1): 1983

Worldwide competitions

• FIBA Intercontinental Cup : Winners (1): 1984

Other competitions

• Trofeo Ambrose : Winners (1): 2009

The road to the European victories

Main article: Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in international competitions

1983–84 FIBA European Champions Cup

1985–86 FIBA Korać Cup

1991–92 FIBA Korać Cup

Season by season record

The following table shows the records from the season 1977–78 in all competitions:

Notable players

2010s

• BIH Nemanja Gordić 2 seasons: '10–'12
• MNE Vladimir Dašić 4 seasons: '10–'12'
• ITA Lorenzo D'Ercole
• BEL Maxime De Zeeuw
• NGA Ndudi Ebi
• USA Austin Freeman
• CAN Melvin Ejim
• CRO Rok Stipčević
• USA Kyle Gibson

2000s

• ITA Luigi Datome 5 season: '08–'13
• SVN Sani Bečirović 1 season: '08–'09
• SVN Primož Brezec 1 season: '08–'09
• USA Brandon Jennings 1 season: '08–'09
• USA Allan Ray 2 seasons: '07–'09
• ARG Roberto Gabini 3 seasons: '07–'09
• USA Erik Daniels 1 season: '07–'08
• ITA Gregor Fučka 1 season: '07–'08
• HRV Roko Leni Ukić 1 season: '07–'08
• ISL Jón Stefánsson 2 seasons: '06–'08
• SVN Erazem Lorbek 2 seasons: '06–'08
• SRB Ognjen Aškrabić 1 season: '06–'07
• USA Mire Chatman 1 season: '06–'07
• ITA Roberto Chiacig 1 season: '06–'07
• USA David Hawkins 4 seasons: '05–'08
• SRB Dejan Bodiroga 2 seasons: '05–'07
• MKD Vlado Ilievski 2 seasons: '05–'07
• NGA Obinna Ekezie 1 season: '05–'06
• BEL Thomas Van Den Spiegel 2 seasons: '04–'06
• USA Tyus Edney 1 season: '04–'05
• ITA Vincenzo Esposito 1/2 season: '04
• CZE Luboš Bartoň 2 seasons: '03–'05
• USA Cory Alexander 1 season: '03–'04
• USA Keith McLeod 1 season: '03–'04
• SVN Marko Tušek 4 seasons: '02–'06'
• ITA Davide Bonora 3 seasons: '02–'05
• USA Horace Jenkins 1 season: '02–'03
• PRI Daniel Santiago 1 season: '02–'03
• USA Anthony Parker 1 season: '02–'03
• ITA Carlton Myers 3 seasons: '01–'04
• ITA Alex Righetti 7 seasons: '00–'07
• USA Ben Handlogten 1 season: '01–'02
• USA Jerome Allen 2 seasons: '00–'02
• USA Rod Sellers 1 season: '00–'01
• ARG Juan Espil 1 season: '00–'01

1990s

• USA Mike Iuzzolino 1 season: '99–'00
• USA Henry Williams 1 season: '99–'00
• USA Warren Kidd 2 seasons: '98–'00
• ITA Mario Boni 2 seasons: '97–'99
• SRB Saša Obradović 2 seasons: '97–'99
• USA Bill Edwards 1 season: '97–'98
• ITA Walter Magnifico 1 season: '97–'98
• USA Ed Stokes 1 season: '96–'97
• ITA Davide Ancilotto 1 season: '96–'97
• USA Steve Henson 2 seasons: '95–'97
• ARG Hugo Sconochini 3 seasons: '95–'96, '04–'06
• USA Tod Murphy 1 season: '95–'96
• USA Jeff Sanders 1 season: '94–'95
• USA Tanoka Beard 1 season: '93–'94
• USA Shelton Jones 1 season: '93–'94
• ITA Sandro Dell'Agnello 2 seasons: '92–'94
• USA Rick Mahorn 2 seasons: '91–'93
• HRV Dino Rađa 3 seasons: '90–'93
• USA Michael Cooper 1 season: '90–'91

1980s

• ITA Roberto Premier 5 seasons: '89–'94
• ITA Fausto Bargna 1 season: '89–'90
• USA Danny Ferry 1 season: '89–'90
• USA Brian Shaw 1 season: '89–'90
• DOM Josè Vargas 1 season: '88–'89
• ITA Emiliano Busca 10 seasons: '87–'90, '92–'99
• ITA Carlo Della Valle 2 seasons: '87–'89
• ITA Tiziano Lorenzon 5 seasons: '86–'91
• USA Mike Bantom 3 seasons: '86–'89
• USA George Gervin 1 season: '86–'87
• USA Jim Rowinski 2 seasons: circa '85–'88
• CAN Leo Rautins 1 season: '85–'86
• ITA Marco Solfrini 4 seasons: '82–'86
• USA Larry Wright 3 seasons: '82–'84, '87–'88
• USA Clarence Kea 2 seasons: '82–'84
• ITA Stefano Sbarra 6 seasons: '81–'87
• ITA Fulvio Polesello 8 seasons: '80–'88
• USA Ray Townsend 1 season: '84–'85

1970s

• ITA Enrico Gilardi 8 seasons: '79–'87, '88–'90
• ITA Roberto Castellano 6 seasons: '78–'83, '89–'90

Head coaches

Sponsorship names

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

• Virtus Aurelia (no sponsorship, 1960–61 until 1971–72)
• Banco di Roma (1972–73 until 1987–88)
• Phonola Roma (1988–89)
• Il Messaggero Roma (1989–90 until 1991–92)
• Virtus Roma (no sponsorship, 1992–93)
• Burghy Roma (1993–94)
• Teorematour Roma (1994–95)
• Nuova Tirrena Roma (1995–96)
• Telemarket Roma (1996–97)
• Calze Pompea Roma (1997–98 until 1998–99)
• Aeroporti di Roma Virtus (1999–00 until 2000–01)
• Würth Roma (2001–02)
• Lottomatica Roma (2002–03 until 2010–11)
• Acea Roma (2011–12 until 2015–16)
• UniCusano Roma (2016–17 until 2017–18)
• Virtus Roma (no sponsorship, 2018–19 to 2020–21)

References

References

1. . (13 September 2013). ["Club profile: Virtus Rome"](http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/116771/club-profile-virtus-rome).
2. Stankovic, Vladimir. (2 December 2013). "Larry Wright, the man with two rings".
3. . (30 June 2011). ["New teams proposed as 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague participants"](http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/86325/new-teams-proposed-as-2011-12-turkish-airlines-euroleague-participants).
4. . (20 June 2012). ["Euroleague board awards two-year Turkish Airlines Euroleague license to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan"](http://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague-basketball/news/i/98302/euroleague-board-awards-two-year-turkish-airlines-euroleague-license-to-ea7-emporio-armani-milan).
5. . (21 June 2013). ["Rome announces it will not play in Turkish Airlines Euroleague"](http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/114414/rome-announces-it-will-not-play-in-turkish-airlines-euroleague).
6. Canfora, Mario. (16 July 2015). "Basket, Serie A: Roma si retrocede in A-2. Caserta ripescata".
7. . (17 July 2015). ["Consiglio federale a Roma. Barilla sponsor della maglia Azzurra, Ammissioni ai Campionati 2015-16, Prandi presidente CIA"](http://www.fip.it/News.asp?IDNews=8376).
8. . (16 July 2015). ["Basket: l'Acea Virtus riparte dai giovani e dal territorio"](http://www.virtusroma.it/basket-lacea-virtus-riparte-dai-giovani-e-dal-territorio/#.VakiO_ntmko).
9. "La Virtus Roma è in Serie A! Batte Legnano 83-88 e si laurea Campione".
10. . ["Il Palazzetto dello Sport"](http://www.virtusroma.it/ticketing/il-palazzetto-dello-sport/).
11. Corio, Paolo. (14 June 2013). "Finali basket: perché Roma non vuole il PalaEUR".
12. . (9 June 2018). ["Virtus Roma: accordo raggiunto, si torna al PalaLottomatica"](https://sportando.basketball/it/italia/serie-a2-ovest/276483/virtus-roma-accordo-raggiunto-si-torna-al-palalottomatica.html).