Fortitudo Bologna

For the baseball team, see Fortitudo Baseball Bologna.

Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna for sponsorship reasons,^[1] is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division.

Fortitudo Bologna
2023–24 Fortitudo Bologna season
Leagues	Serie A2
Founded	1932 (original) 2013 (re-founded)
History	Fortitudo Bologna (1939–2012) Fortitudo Bologna 103 (2013–present)
Arena	PalaDozza
Capacity	5,570
Location	Bologna, Italy
Team colors	White and blue
President	Stefano Tedeschi
Team manager	Nicolò Basciano
Head coach	Attilio Caja
Ownership	NewCo Sporting Fortitudo S.r.l.
Championships	2 Italian Leagues 1 Italian Cup 2 Italian Supercups 1 Italian LNP Cup
Website	fortitudo103.it
Home Away

History

Fortitudo has for much of its history played second fiddle in its own city to arch rivals Virtus Bologna, with whom it contests the fierce Bologna Derby. Fortitudo won its first major trophy in 1998, winning the Italian Cup.

Fortitudo made the Italian league finals ten consecutive years (1997–2006). After three straight finals losses, Fortitudo won the Serie A 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 European top-tier Euroleague. Fortitudo's first achievement in European competition was a FIBA Korać Cup final against Jugoplastika in 1977 in their maiden participation. It got to the Euroleague Final four in 1999 (losing in the semifinal against city rivals Kinder Bologna and in third place game against Olympiacos) and the semifinal of the Euroleague playoffs in 2001 (again eliminated by rivals Virtus); then the club lost in the Euroleague final in 2004 to Maccabi Tel Aviv by 44 points. The 2006–07 season saw them change coaches three times as they finished thirteenth (out of eighteen), though they still qualified for the 2007–08 ULEB Cup.

Due to economic irregularities, upon Fortitudo's relegation from the 2008–09 season, the team was not allowed to participate in the 2009–10 Serie A2, restarting from the Serie A dilettanti. After winning that league, Fortitudo was once again excluded from Serie A2 and the club's affiliation to the Italian Federation revoked. As such, Fortitudo was barred from playing in any league, save for youth development leagues.

The Rebirth and return to the top flight

On 18 June 2013, a group of local entrepreneurs, professionals and fans joined to give life to Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, the spiritual successor (with the same fan base such as the Fossa dei Leoni fan group) of the original entity. Starting from the fourth division DNB, Fortitudo climbed to the second division Serie A2 where it played during the 2015–16 season.

After a successful campaign in 2018–19, the club qualified for promotion to Serie A for the first time since its 2009 dissolution. They later qualified to the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League, but they finished last in their group. In the 2021–22 season, they finished in the 15th position to be relegated to Serie A2.

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Italian League

Winners (2): 1999–00, 2004–05

• Italian Cup

Winners (1): 1997–98

• Italian Supercup

Winners (2): 1998, 2005

European competitions

• EuroLeague

Runners-up (1): 2003–04

Semifinalists (1): 2000–01

4th place (1): 1998–99

Final Four (2): 1999, 2004

• FIBA Korać Cup

Runners-up (1): 1976–77

Semifinalists (1): 1995–96

Other competitions

• Copa de Andata Carisbo

Winners (1): 2007

• Via Resa, Italy Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2007

Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions

Main article: Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna in European and worldwide competitions

Season	Achievement	Notes
EuroLeague
1996–97	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–1 by FC Barcelona, 70–65 (W) in Bologna, 73–75 (L) in Barcelona and 62–87 (L) in Bologna
1997–98	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–0 by Kinder Bologna, 52–64 (L) in Bologna away, 56–58 (L) in Bologna home
1998–99	Final Four	4th place in Munich, lost to Kinder Bologna 57–62 in the semi-final, lost to Olympiacos 63–74 in the 3rd place game
1999–00	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–1 by Maccabi Tel Aviv, 65–62 (W) in Tel Aviv, 73–80 (L) in Bologna and 64–79 (L) in Tel Aviv
2000–01	Semi-finals	eliminated 3–0 by Kinder Bologna, 76–103 (L) in Bologna away, 84–92 (L) in Bologna away and 70–74 (L) in Bologna home
2003–04	Final	defeated Montepaschi Siena 103–102 in the semi-final, lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 74–118 in the final (Tel Aviv)
FIBA Korać Cup
1976–77	Final	lost to Jugoplastika 84–87 in the final (Genoa)
1994–95	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Alba Berlin, 73–77 (L) in Berlin and 80–80 (D) in Bologna
1995–96	Semi-finals	eliminated by Efes Pilsen, 78–102 (L) in Istanbul and 97–91 (W) in Bologna

Retired numbers

Fortitudo Bologna retired numbers
No	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure	Date retired	Ref.
13		Gary Schull	C	1968–1973	2010	[2]

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Fortitudo Bologna roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age SG 1 Banks, Adrian 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 39 – (1986-02-09)9 February 1986 SG 4 Aradori, Pietro 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 36 – (1988-12-09)9 December 1988 C 10 Barbante, Simone 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 25 – (1999-08-29)29 August 1999 PG 11 Panni, Alessandro 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 33 – (1991-12-27)27 December 1991 SG 19 Vašl, Miha 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 33 – (1992-03-02)2 March 1992 F/C 20 Candussi, Francesco 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 31 – (1994-02-23)23 February 1994 PG 21 Fantinelli, Matteo (C) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 31 – (1993-11-24)24 November 1993 SG 23 Niang, Saliou 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – (2004-05-14)14 May 2004 SF 31 Italiano, Nazzareno 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 33 – (1991-07-15)15 July 1991 PF 32 Cucci, Valerio 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 30 – (1995-01-19)19 January 1995	Head coach Matteo Angori Assistant coach(es) Matteo Tasini Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 16 May 2023

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench
C	Francesco Candussi	SImone Barbante
PF	Valerio Cucci	Nazzareno Italiano
SF	Pietro Aradori	Saliou Niang
SG	Adrian Banks	Miha Vašl
PG	Matteo Fantinelli	Alessandro Panni

(colours: Italian or homegrown players; foreign players; young players)

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

• John D. Douglas 4 seasons: '83–'87
• - George Bucci 5 seasons: '85–'90
• Andrea Dallamora 8 seasons: '86–'94
• - Wallace Bryant 1 season: '87–'88
• Daniele Albertazzi 6 seasons: '87–'93
• Moris Masetti 2 seasons: '87–'89
• Bill Garnett 1 season: '87–'88
• Artis Gilmore 1 season: '88–'89
• Vincent Askew 1 season: '88–'89
• Gene Banks 1 season: '88–'89
• Chris McNealy 1 season: '89–'90
• Dave Feitl 1 season: '89–'90
• Pete Myers 2 seasons: '90–'92
• Cedrick Hordges 1 season: '90–'91
• Valdemaras Chomičius 1 season: '90–'91
• Teoman Alibegović 2 seasons: '91–'93
• Shaun Vandiver 1 season: '91–'92
• Dallas Comegys 2 seasons: '92–'94
• Corrado Fumagalli 2 seasons: '92–'94
• Dan Gay 8 seasons: '93–'00, '06–'07
• Vincenzo Esposito 2 seasons: '93–'95
• Aleksandar Đorđević 2 seasons: '94–'96
• Carlton Myers 6 seasons: '95–'01
• Alessandro Frosini 3 seasons: '94–'97
• Mike Brown 1 season: '95–'96
• Conrad McRae 1 season: '96–'97
• Eric Murdock 1 season: '96–'97
• Gregor Fučka 5 seasons: '97–'02
• Giacomo Galanda 5 seasons: '97–'98, '99–'03
• Roberto Chiacig 2 seasons: '97–'99
• David Rivers 1 season: '97–'98
• Dominique Wilkins 1 season: '97–'98
• Gianluca Basile 7 seasons: '98–'05
• Marko Jarić 2 seasons: '98–'00
• Artūras Karnišovas 2 seasons: '98–'00
• Damir Mulaomerović 1 season: '98–'99
• Vinny Del Negro 1 season: '98–'99
• George Rusinak 1 seasons: '00'01
• Anthony Bowie 1 season: '00–'01
• Eddie Gill1 season: '00–'01
• Eurelijus Žukauskas 1 season: '00–'01
• Vassil Evtimov 2 seasons: '01–'02, '06–'07
• Emilio Kovačić 2 seasons: '01–'03
• John Celestand 1 season: '01–'02
• Anthony Goldwire 1 season: '01–'02
• Dan McClintock 1 season: '01–'02
• Marko Milič 1 season: '01–'02
• Rumeal Robinson 1 season: '01–'02
• Zoran Savić 1 season: '01–'02
• Stefano Mancinelli 9 seasons: '01–'09
• Gianmarco Pozzecco 3 seasons: '02–'05
• Carlos Delfino 3 seasons: '02–'04,'19
• A. J. Guyton 2 seasons: '02–'04
• Luboš Bartoň 1 season: '02–'03
• Vlado Šćepanović 1 season: '02–'03
• Mate Skelin 1 season: '02–'03
• Davor Marcelić 1 season: '02–'03
• Marco Belinelli 4 seasons: '03–'07
• Erazem Lorbek 3 seasons: '03–'06
• Matjaž Smodiš 2 seasons: '03–'05
• Miloš Vujanić 2 seasons: '03–'05
• Hanno Möttölä 1 season: '03–'04
• Dalibor Bagarić 4 seasons: '04–'06, '07–'09
• Amal McCaskill 1 season: '04–'05
• Jean-Paul Afif 1 season: '04–'05
• Ruben Douglas 1 season: '04–'05
• Nate Green 1 season: '04–'05
• Sani Bečirovič 1 season: '05–'06
• Yakhouba Diawara 1 season: '05–'06
• Kiwane Garris 1 season: '05–'06
• Travis Watson 1 season: '05–'06
• - David Bluthenthal 1 season: '06–'07
• Alain Digbeu 1 season: '06–'07
• Tyus Edney 1 season: '06–'07
• Goran Jurak 1 season: '06–'07
• Jérôme Moïso 1 season: '06–'07
• Moochie Norris 1 season: '06–'07
• Preston Shumpert 1 season: '06–'07
• Kristaps Janičenoks 1 season: '07–'08
• Earl Barron 1 season: '08
• Marcelinho Huertas 1 season: '08–'09
• Kieron Achara 1 season: '08–'09
• Jamont Gordon 1 season: '08–'09
• Uroš Slokar 1 season: '08–'09
• Joseph Forte 1 season: '08–'09
• James Thomas 3 seasons: '06–'09
• Eric Mavungu 1 seasons: '06
• Qyntel Woods 1 season: '08–'09
• D. J. Strawberry 1 season: '08–'09
• Lazaros Papadopoulos 1 season: '08–'09
• Davide Lamma 8 seasons: '93–'94, '94–'95, '98, '07–'08, '08–'09, '09–'10, '10–'11, '14–'15
• Marco Carraretto 1 season: '15–'16
• Stefano Mancinelli 1 season: '16–present
• Çelis Taflaj 1 season: '23–'24

Players at the NBA draft

#	Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game

Position	Player	Year	Round	Pick	Drafted by
SG	Marko Jarić	2000	1st round	30th	Los Angeles Clippers
SF/SG	Carlos Delfino	2003	1st round	25th	Detroit Pistons
PF/C	Erazem Lorbek#	2005	2nd round	46th	Indiana Pacers
SG/SF	Marco Belinelli	2007	1st round	18th	Golden State Warriors
SG/SF	Gabriele Procida	2022	2nd round	36th	Portland Trail Blazers

Head coaches

Beppe Lamberti (1966–1973) Dido Guerrieri (1973–1974) Alberto Bucci (1974) Aza Nikolić (1974–1976) John McMillen (1976–1980) Mauro Di Vincenzo (1980–1981) Dodo Rusconi (1981–1983) Rudy D'Amico (1983) Francesco Zucchini and Andrea Sassoli (1983–1984) Andrea Sassoli (1984–1988) Mauro Di Vincenzo (1988–1990) Stefano Pillastrini (1990-1992) Lino Bruni Marco Calamai Dario Bellandi Sergio Scariolo (1993-1996) Valerio Bianchini (1996-1998) Petar Skansi (1998-1999) Carlo Recalcati (1999-2001) Matteo Boniciolli (2001-2002) Jasmin Repeša (2002-2006) Fabrizio Frates (2006)

Ergin Ataman (2006-2007) Massimiliano Oldoini / Dan Gay (2007) Andrea Mazzon (2007-2008) Dragan Šakota (2008) Cesare Pancotto (2008-2009) Alessandro Finelli Antonio Tinti Federico Politi Claudio Vandoni Matteo Boniciolli (2015-2018) Gianmarco Pozzecco (2018) Antimo Martino (2018-2020, 2021-2022) Romeo Sacchetti (2020) Luca Dalmonte (2020-21, 2022-2023) Attilio Caja (2023-)

Sponsorship names

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

• Cassera Bologna (1966–68)
• Eldorado Bologna (1968–71)
• Alco Bologna (1971–78)
• Mercury Bologna (1978–80)
• I&B Bologna (1980–81)
• Lattesole Bologna (1981–83)
• Yoga Bologna (1983–88)
• Arimo Bologna (1988–90)
• Aprimatic Bologna (1990–91)
• Mangiaebevi Bologna (1991–93)
• Filodoro Bologna (1993–95)
• Teamsystem Bologna (1995–99)
• Paf Wennington Bologna (1999–01)
• Skipper Bologna (2001–04)
• Climamio Bologna (2004–07)
• UPIM Bologna [Domestically] (2007–08)
  • Beghelli Bologna [European competition] (2007–08)
• GMAC Bologna [Domestically] (2008–09)
  • Fortitudo Bologna [European competition] (2008–09)
• Amori Bologna (2009–10)
• Tulipano Impianti Bologna (2013–14)
• Eternedile Bologna (2014–16)
• Contatto Bologna (2016–17)
• Consultinvest Bologna (2017–18)
• Lavoropiù Fortitudo Bologna (2018–19)
• Fortitudo Pompea Bologna (2019–20)
• Lavoropiù Fortitudo Bologna (2020–21)
• Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna (2021–2023)
• Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna (2023–present)