Virtus Roma

Virtus Roma 1960
Leagues	Serie B
Founded	1960 2021 (refoundation)
History	Virtus Aurelia (1960–1972) Pallacanestro Virtus Roma (1972–2020) Virtus Roma 1960 (2021–present)
Arena	PalaLottomatica
Capacity	11,200
Location	Rome, Lazio, Italy
Team colors	Red, Yellow, Blue
President	Maurizio Zoffoli
Head coach	Alessandro Tonolli
Championships	1 FIBA Intercontinental Cup 1 EuroLeague 2 FIBA Korać Cups 1 Italian League 1 Italian Supercup
Website	virtusroma1960.it
Home Away Third

Virtus Roma 1960, commonly known as Virtus Roma, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. The club, named Pallacanestro Virtus Roma competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for decades until 2020, when it failed. In 2021 the club was refounded.

It was formerly a major side in Europe, winning the 1983–84 FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague), and at one time being one of only 13 clubs to hold a EuroLeague A license. However, its standing later waned, and Virtus became less competitive in both Europe and the domestic LBA - which it had won in 1983 – before being voluntarily relegated to the Italian second division in July 2015.

In December 2020, Virtus was dissolved after the club was declared bankrupt after months of financial struggles.

For past club sponsorship names, see sponsorship names.

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.^[1] The next season, the Italian club won the 1984 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, after topping a group of international clubs in Brazil.^[2] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6][7][8]

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.^[9] Virtu returns to the highest tier after an absence of four years.

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

• 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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

Virtus Roma roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age PF 0 Hadžić, Damir 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 103 kg (227 lb) 27 – (1997-05-13)13 May 1997 F/C 1 Biordi, Ygor 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 28 – (1996-01-17)17 January 1996 G 9 Beane, Anthony 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 30 – (1994-05-06)6 May 1994 G 12 Campogrande, Luca 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 28 – (1996-04-30)30 April 1996 PG 13 Baldasso, Tommaso (C) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 26 – (1998-01-29)29 January 1998 C 14 Cervi, Riccardo 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 115 kg (254 lb) 33 – (1991-06-19)19 June 1991 G 15 Telesca, Samuele 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 78 kg (172 lb) 21 – (2003-02-01)1 February 2003 C 16 Hunt, Dario 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 35 – (1989-05-02)2 May 1989 PG 22 Robinson, Gerald 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 77 kg (170 lb) 35 – (1989-02-10)10 February 1989 PF 23 Evans, Chris 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 33 – (1991-01-29)29 January 1991 G/F 25 Farley, Liam 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 30 – (1994-09-20)20 September 1994 SF 99 Wilson, Jamil 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 33 – (1990-11-21)21 November 1990	Head coach Piero Bucchi Assistant coach(es) Giuseppe Di Paolo Andrea Bonacina Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 10 December 2020

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.

Total titles: 6

• 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

• 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

• FIBA Intercontinental Cup

Winners (1): 1984

• Trofeo Ambrose

Winners (1): 2009

1983–84 FIBA European Champions Cup Round Team   Home     Away   1st T71 Dudelange 85–44 72–40 2nd Partizani Tirana 93–55 78–69 SF Limoges CSP 81–76 76–74 FC Barcelona 74–71 74–81 Jollycolombani Cantù 85–86 79–71 Maccabi Tel Aviv 82–67 91–85 Bosna 65–55 77–86 F FC Barcelona 79–73

1985–86 FIBA Korać Cup Round Team   Home     Away   2nd Bye Top 16 Hapoel Tel Aviv 93–74 82–92 Bosna 91–77 96–100 Challans 107–80 78–77 SF Olympique Antibes 83–75 78–69 F Mobilgirgi Caserta 73–72 84–78

1991–92 FIBA Korać Cup Round Team   Home     Away   1st Go Pass Verviers-Pepinster 104–90 99–89 2nd Reims 94–71 72–54 Top 16 CAI Zaragoza 97–72 81–77 Panathinaikos 84–75 99–96 Pitch Cholet 95–88 69–83 QF Racing Club de France 80–72 71–70 SF Fórum Filatélico Valladolid 76–70 66–67 F Scavolini Pesaro 94–94 99–86

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

Season	Tier	League	Pos.	Postseason	Italian Cup	Supercup	Europe		Worldwide
1977–78	3	Serie B	4	Promoted	–	–	–	–	–	–
1978–79	2	Serie A2	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1979–80	2	Serie A2	3	Promoted	–	–	–	–	–	–
1980–81	1	Serie A	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1981–82	1	Serie A	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1982–83	1	Serie A	1	Champions	–	–	Korać Cup	Top 16	–	–
1983–84	1	Serie A	9	–	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Champions	–	–
1984–85	1	Serie A	1	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Top 6	Intercontinental Cup	Champions
1985–86	1	Serie A	10	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Champions	Intercontinental Cup	8
1986–87	1	Serie A	8	Top 12	Top 32	–	–	–	–	–
1987–88	1	Serie A	10	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	–	–
1988–89	1	Serie A	12	–	Top 32	–	–	–	–	–
1989–90	1	Serie A	8	Quarterfinalist	Finalist	–	–	–	–	–
1990–91	1	Serie A	4	Semifinalist	Top 16	–	–	–	–	–
1991–92	1	Serie A	6	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Champions	–	–
1992–93	1	Serie A	12	–	Top 16	–	Korać Cup	Finalist	–	–
1993–94	1	Serie A	15	–	Top 32	–	–	–	–	–
1994–95	1	Serie A	8	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	–	–
1995–96	1	Serie A	6	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	–	–
1996–97	1	Serie A	6	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Quarterfinalist	–	–
1997–98	1	Serie A	8	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Semifinalist	–	–
1998–99	1	Serie A	6	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Top 16	–	–
1999–00	1	Serie A	6	Top 14	Quarterfinalist	–	Korać Cup	Quarterfinalist	–	–
2000–01	1	Serie A	5	Quarterfinalist	Semifinalist	Champions	–	–	–	–
2001–02	1	Serie A	8	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	–	–	–
2002–03	1	Serie A	2	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	–	–
2003–04	1	Serie A	7	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Regular season	–	–
2004–05	1	Serie A	6	Semifinalist	Semifinalist	–	–	–	–	–
2005–06	1	Serie A	6	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Eurocup	Quarterfinalist	–	–
2006–07	1	Serie A	4	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Top 16	–	–
2007–08	1	Serie A	2	Finalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Top 16	–	–
2008–09	1	Serie A	2	Quarterfinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Euroleague	Top 16	–	–
2009–10	1	Serie A	7	Semifinalist	–	–	Euroleague	Regular season	–	–
2010–11	1	Serie A	9	–	–	–	Euroleague	Top 16	–	–
2011–12	1	Serie A	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2012–13	1	Serie A	3	Finalist	Semifinalist	–	–	–	–	–
2013–14	1	Serie A	6	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist	–	Eurocup	Regular season	–	–
2014–15	1	Serie A	10	Demoted	–	–	Eurocup	Top 16	–	–
2015–16	2	Serie A2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

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)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pallacanestro Virtus Roma.

• Serie A Historical Results (in Italian) Retrieved 18 July 2015
• Eurobasket.com Team Profile