Virtus Bologna
Virtus Bologna, which began as a gymnastics club in 1879, formed its first professional basketball team in the late 1920s and proceeded to win championships consistently for more than half a century. It won four consecutive Italian League titles from 1945 to 1948 and then added more in 1955 and 1956. After a two-decade drought, Virtus claimed four more Italian League crowns between 1976 and 1984, the last coming with an Italian Cup victory for the club's first double. In 1990, Virtus won its first European title, the Saporta Cup. That came nine years after reaching the 1981 EuroLeague final. Virtus captured its first EuroLeague crown in 1998 when it beat AEK Athens in Barcelona. Coach Ettore Messina led Virtus to a second EuroLeague championship in 2001 with Manu Ginobili chosen as Finals MVP. Virtus lost in the 2002 EuroLeague final and soon after suffered financial troubles, which saw it slip to the Italian second division. On the rebound, it won the BCL in 2019 and the EuroCup in 2022 to secure its return to the EuroLeague. In 2023, Virtus won the Italian Cup, and in the 2023-24 campaign, was one win away from qualifying for the EuroLeague Playoffs. Last season Virtus struggled in the EuroLeague, but was successful domestically and, behind Coach Dusko Ivanovic, stormed through the Italian League playoffs to win another Italian crown.
