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 went bankrupt. 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.
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.
Banco di Roma before the kick-off of the European Champions Cup match against Limoges CSP in 1983.
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]
Virtus Roma supporters in 2008
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.
Dissolution
On December 9, 2020, the club withdrew from the Serie A due to financial difficulties and the inability to find a new investor.
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]
2020–21 roster
This was the last roster that Roma had in the 2020–21 LBA season before the official withdrawal from the championship.
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
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.
↑ "Il Palazzetto dello Sport"[The Palazzetto dello Sport]. Pallacanestro Virtus Roma (in Italian). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
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