Mens Sana Basket (1934–2000) MontePaschi Mens Sana Basket Siena (2000–2014) Mens Sana Basket 1871 (2015–2019) Mens Sana Basketball Academy (2019–2023) Mens Sana Basketball Siena (2023–present)
Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871.
Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the club was a dominant presence in the Italian Serie A, winning five titles in a row from 2006–07 to 2010–11, besides two more titles later revoked by the Italian Federation,[1] whilst also challenging for titles in Europe. After financial problems caused the club to go bankrupt in 2014, it moved down to the fourth division. In the 2015–16 season it played in the second division.
The parent organisation, Associazione Ginnastica Senese "Mens Sana in Corpore Sano 1871", was formed on 16 April 1871 by university students. In the beginning of the 19th century the gymnastics club became a multi-sports club (Italian: Polisportiva) by adding other sports under its wing.[2]
Basketball was first practiced by the club in May 1907 when – at the Venice Gymnastics competition – teacher Ida Nomi Pesciolini led a women's team in a basketball demonstration. It's claimed this was the first time the game – invented in 1891 – was played in Italy, with Nomi discovering the sport whilst in the United Kingdom and then translating the rules in Italian.[3][4]
The official basketball section of the club was established in 1934. However, the club and the organisation as a whole had limited activities until the end of the Second World War in 1945. After that date, basketball was played again, at first by students from the Piccolomini high school.[2][4]
A professional club (1967–2000)
On 5 March 1967, Mens Sana played against city rival Costone for a place in the second division Serie B, with the former winning 64–63. In 1973, having lost the previous year, Siena beat Brina Rieti 80–66 to reach the top tier Serie A for the first time.[4] During the 1974–75 season, Sapori Siena finished fifth in the league thanks to a slow-paced style combined with zone defense as twin towers Carl Johnson and Enrico Bovone dominated the paint.[5]
In 1978–79, Antonini Siena reached the Serie A quarterfinals, earning a place in the 1979–80 FIBA Korać Cup where they went to the Round of 16.[6] Only two seasons later the side was in the second division again and at the end of the 1986 season it moved down to the third division Serie B Eccellenza. Siena would stay there until 1990, returning to the Serie A in 1991 and staying there for good from 1994. At the beginning of the decade, the club had become autonomous from the Polisportiva.[4]
In 2002–03, Montepaschi added guard Alphonso Ford and forward Mirsad Türkcan. For their first season in the EuroLeague, Europe's best competition, the Italians reached the Final Four (just the second team to achieve the feat), losing 62–65 to Benetton Treviso, a team that also beat them in the domestic semifinals on the way to the title.[5]
The next two seasons put a brake on that success, with the sole addition of the Italian Supercup amidst two quarterfinal eliminations in the league and one Top 16 appearance in the Euroleague. Siena native and long serving club member Simone Pianigiani was promoted to the head coach role in 2006 whilst the roster was overhauled.[5] Montepaschi went to the quarterfinals of the 2006–07 ULEB Cup (Europe's second-tier competition) before losing to UNICS. More importantly, a team led by Rimantas Kaukėnas, Joseph Forte and Terrell McIntyre won 39 of the 44 games they played in the Serie A season (with a 3–0 finals sweep) to earn their second league title.[7][8]
With the return of Thornton and the addition of Kšyštof Lavrinovič, Montepaschi reached the 2008 Euroleague Final Four after sweeping their quarterfinals. A 17-point second-half lead against Maccabi Tel Aviv proved insufficient as the Italians lost in the semifinal. On the domestic front, Siena started the season with 18 successive wins and were never challenged in their third title conquest.[9]
In 2008–09, Siena became the second side to complete a domestic treble after losing just one game on their way to the league, Cup and Supercup titles.[10]
After adding Nikos Zisis, Marko Jarić, Malik Hairston and Bo McCalebb, Montepaschi reached another Euroleague Final Four in 2011, overcoming then-top scorer McCalebb's injury and a record 48-point loss to Olympiacos in the quarterfinals game 1. However, they were again stopped in the semifinals, this time by champions Panathinaikos. In the league they proved unstoppable again, adding a fifth straight Serie A crown and a third straight Cup title to their trophy cabinet.[11]
In 2011–12, Montepaschi achieved an unprecedented sixth consecutive Serie A title, adding the Supercup (their fifth in a row) and Cup (fourth) for good measure. The 2011–12 Euroleague saw eventual champions Olympiacos avenge their preceding year's defeat by topping the Italians in the quarterfinals.[12][13] All the titles won during this season were to be revoked four years later by the Italian Basketball Federation, following an investigation for accounting and fiscal fraud.
2012–13 saw two major changes with a decrease in budget that saw several players leave and a change in coach, with Pianigiani replaced by assistant Luca Banchi. Montepaschi wasn't as competitive, being eliminated at the Euroleague Top 16 stage whilst in the domestic league they finished the regular season in fifth place with 12 losses. However the holders rallied in the playoffs, winning two Best-of–7 series in game 7, against EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and Cimberio Varese before toppling Acea Roma 4–1 in the finals to add title number seven to the Cup they had earlier won.[14][15] This title too was revoked three years later by the Italian Basketball Federation.
The next season (2013–2014) saw an ever-contracting budget and a more ordinary roster, Montepaschi found it harder to compete in the 2013–14 Euroleague, alternating between close wins (sometimes on the buzzer) and closer defeats, ending the season with 3 wins and 7 losses.[16] In their final game against Unicaja that would decide who progressed from the group, the Italians were the victims of a buzzer beating shot that eliminated them from the competition.[17] Though its financial problems emerged to the fore, with a relegation all but assured due to massive debts, on the court the holders kept fighting, pushing favourites Milan to seven games in the Serie A finals, though they would go on to concede the title.[18]
Soon after, Mens Sana Basket was declared bankrupt amidst debts of 5,4 million euros and the departure of sponsor Montepaschi even if the company had revenue for over 400 million Euro. Furthermore, an inquest had been started in 2012 after suspected undeclared payments and tax evasion by club officials for over 90 million Euro, including former president Ferdinando Minucci.[19]
On 25 October 2017, following an investigation for accounting and fiscal fraud, including the destruction of some of the company's accounts by the president Ferdinando Minucci, the Italian Basketball Federation revoked all the domestic titles won by the club during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, namely two Italian titles, two Italian Cups and an Italian Supercup.[1]
A new start (2014–present)
The Mens Sana multi-sports club then retook ownership of the basketball club, it was registered in the fourth division Serie B for the 2014–15 season, with all players having left though Roberto Chiacig returned. In June 2015, Mens Sana 1871 won the third place game in the Serie B final four to earn a promotion to the unified second division Serie A2 for 2015–16.[20][21] In March 2019, Siena was excluded from the West Group of the Serie A2 for economic issues. In the beginnings of 2019, the team's roster was practically dismantled due to the club's financial troubles making it impossible to pay the league's taxes and the wages. The exclusion was determined after various renounciatiouns by the team to play certain games and on the charges of "unsportsmanlike conduct", since its line-up altered the competitiveness of the league.[22]
Following the exclusion, the team was renamed as Mens Sana Siena Basketball Academy, after absorbing again the control of Mens Sana's former satellite youth team; and enrolled for the 2019–20 Promozione Toscana, in the 7th tier of the Italian Basketball Federation. Such league was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy with Siena in the lead.
On the 21st of August 2020, it was announced that Mens Sana Siena would be participating on the Group A of the Serie C silver, a regional league representing the 5th Tier of the Italian Basketball Federation.
Arena
Mens Sana played in the Sant’Agata gymnasium before moving into the Dodecaedro (later Palazzetto Giannelli) when it was built in 1968. They later moved into the Palascalavo in 1976 (now Palasport Mens Sana, capacity 6,000[23]).[24]
Igor Rakočević is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player.
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier level of the Italian league system. The LBA plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 16 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the Serie A2 and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier.
Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – against whom they have an 8–2 record – for European trophies won, with twelve titles, in addition to three domestic Italian Leagues and two Italian Supercups.
Michalis "Mika" Kakiouzis is a Greek former professional basketball player and coach. He is currently working as the head coach for Keravnos of the Cyprus Basketball Division A. During his playing career, at a height of 2.07 m tall, Kakiouzis was able to play at both the small forward and power forward positions.
Rimantas "Rimas" Kaukėnas is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. His long career has taken him to a number of countries, finding the most success in Italy. He has also been a member of the senior men's Lithuanian national team. Playing primarily at the shooting guard position, he can also play as a point guard.
Nikolaos "Nikos" Zisis is a Greek basketball executive and former professional basketball player. During his pro club playing career, at a height of 1.97 m tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022. He is currently the general manager of the senior Greek men's national basketball team.
Petar "Pece" Naumoski is a former Macedonian professional basketball player. At a height of 1.95 m tall, and a weight of 95 kg (210 lbs.). He played mainly at the point guard position during his career, but he could also play as a shooting guard and a small forward. He was a very skillful play maker. In his pro playing career, he had some quite successful years, while playing in Turkey and Italy.
Roberto Chiacig is an Italian former professional basketball player, still playing at an amateur level.
Simone Pianigiani is an Italian professional basketball coach.
Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile, is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies won in Italy and Greece, including the EuroLeague title.
Kristjan Kangur is an retired Estonian professional basketball player for Tallinna Kalev in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. He is 2.03 m tall, and he can play at both the small forward and power forward positions.
Luigi "Gigi" Datome is an Italian former professional basketball player. Standing at 2.03 m, he played at the small forward and power forward positions. Datome was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2016.
The Italian Basketball Supercup, also known as Discovery+ Supercoppa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball super cup competition. From the 2020 Supercup edition, all the teams of LBA took part in the competition. Created in 1995, it is organised by the Lega Basket – who run the LBA and the Italian Cup – in partnership with RCS Sport, and it traditionally opens the season.
The Italian Basketball Cup, or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian Basketball League (LBA). It is Italy's first-tier cup competition, and is not to be confused with Italy's second-tier cup competition, the Italian Legadue Cup.
Lester "Bo" McCalebb is an American-Macedonian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Macedonian national team internationally. Standing at 1.83 m, he played at the point guard position. Born and raised in New Orleans, he attended the University of New Orleans. A two-time All-EuroLeague selection, McCalebb was part of the All-Tournament Team at EuroBasket 2011.
Pietro Aradori is an Italian professional basketball player for Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Standing at 1.98 m, he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Daniel Lorenzo Hackett is an American-Italian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.96 m, he can play at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.
Ojārs Siliņš is a Latvian professional basketball player for Legia Warsaw of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He plays the small forward and power forward positions.
Luca Banchi is an Italian professional basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the Latvia men's national basketball team and the Italian club Virtus Bologna, competing in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was awarded as the best coach of FIBA World Cup 2023.
Luca Lechthaler is a retired Italian professional basketball player who now covers the role of Academy manager at Dolomiti Energia Trento of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A where he last played and concluded his career. He played as a center.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
