Pallacanestro Varese

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File:IGNIS Varese 1973.jpg

Ignis Varese in 1973.

Pallacanestro Varese is a professional basketball club that plays to Lega Basket Serie A, the top level of Italian basketball, for the 2009–10 season after winning the 2009 title of the second-level LegADue. The club had been relegated from Lega A after finishing second-from-bottom the previous season.

The club was founded in 1945. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.

History

Basketball was introduced in Varese in 1945 with the creation of the historical club, Pallacanestro Varese. The first sponsors were introduced 8 years later in 1954 including Storm and Ignis, followed by Emerson, Turisanda, Cagiva, Star, Ciaocrem, Divarese, Ranger, Metis, Whirlpool and the most recent, Cimberio. Varese is also famous due to the lack of main sponsor in the mid-1990s and the choice of franchise name, the Varese Roosters.

Since their creation, Pallancanestro Varese has won 10 Italian titles, −1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978 and the last title, won 21 years after the previous title, in 1999. With 10 titles, Varese is the third most winning team of the Italian League ever after Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna.

As it is shown by its roll of honors, Varese was extremely competitive in the 1970s, when the club played ten Euroleague finals in a row, winning 5 of them in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975 and 1976. Between 1970 and 1975 the club was named Ignis Varese. The golden age had begun some years before, as Varese conquered the Intercontinental Cup in 1966, repeating it 4 and 7 years later in its greatest decade in 1970 and 1973. Varese succeeded in doing the great enterprise, the Grande Slam, winning all the trophies available in 1973 with famous Professor Aca Nikolić seating on the bench. Varese also won two Cups of the Cups, 1967 and 1980, and four Italian Cups, in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1973.

Varese's great age ended in the early nineties, when the team dropped down to the second division. Soon, the club took its revenge coming up once again to the Italian top league, and after 5 years spent as the real team to watch in the Italian playoffs, it succeeded in winning its historical 10th title, the one that gives the star on the jersey in 1999, with Italian national team's coach Carlo Recalcati on bench. Varese has never repeated that triumph so far, but the great resound of that success is still echoing all over Italy. Varese is trying to return to the top Italian and European competition in the years to come.

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Notable players

Ivano Bisson Paolo Conti Marcelo Damiao Alessandro De Pol Fabrizio Della Fiori Massimo Ferraiuolo Guido Iellini Andrea Meneghin Daniel Farabello Gabriel Fernández Template:Country data HRVTemplate:Namespace detect showall Arijan Komazec Alain Digbeu Fedon Matheou Template:Country data SERTemplate:Namespace detect showall Nikola Loncar Template:Country data SVNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Boris Gorenc Template:Country data SVNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Sani Bečirovič Tim Bassett Anthony Bowie Frank Brickowski Geno Carlisle DeJuan Collins Pat Cummings John Deveraux Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall D. J. Mbenga Bill Edwards Antony Gennari Derek Hamilton Delonte Holland Cedric Hordges Frank Johnson Billy Keys Rusty LaRue Kevin Magee Wes Matthews Jerry McCullough

Dino Meneghin Luigi Mentasti Nico Messina Larry Micheaux Bob Morse Alberto Mottini Template:Country data HRVTemplate:Namespace detect showall Veljko Mršić Tyrone Nesby Norman Nolan Aldo Ossola Template:Country data SVKTemplate:Namespace detect showall Richard Petruška Charles Pittman Pavel Podkolzin Gianmarco Pozzecco Manuel Raga Enrico Ravaglia Edoardo Rusconi Stefano Rusconi Romeo Sacchetti Daniel Santiago Template:Country data HRVTemplate:Namespace detect showall Mate Skelin Reggie Theus Corny Thompson Francesco Vescovi Paolo Vittori Derrel Washington Terry White Eddie Lee Wilkins Leon Wood Charlie Yelverton Marino Zanatta Cristiano Zanus Fortes Antonio Zorzi

Notable coaches

• Aleksandar Nikolić

• Nico Messina

• Sandro Gamba

• Edoardo Rusconi

• Joe Isaac

• Carlo Recalcati

• Valerio Bianchini

• Ruben Magnano

Sponsorship names

Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:

• Storm (1954–56)

• Ignis (1956–75)

• Mobilgirgi (1975–78)

• Emerson (1978–80)

• Turisanda (1980–81)

• Cagiva (1981–83)

• Star (1983–84)

• Ciao Crem (1984–85)

• Divarese (1985–89)

• Ranger (1989–92)

• Cagiva (1992–97)

• No name sponsorship (1997–99)

• Varese Roosters (1999-01)

• Metis (2001–04)

• Casti Group (2004–05)

• Whirlpool (2005–07)

• Cimberio (2007–present)

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1997–1999	Kappa	rowspan=1
1999–2001	Reebok
2003–2007	Nike
2003–2007	Macron

Colors and badge

Varese-Stemma.png

City crest
(1997–99)

Varese Roosters Logo.jpg

Roosters crest
(1999–01)

Logo Varese.JPG

Casti Group crest
(2004–05)

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Varese Cimberio crest
(2010–)

External links

• Official Website Template:It icon

• Eurobasket.com Team Page

• Varese Basket Blog Template:It icon

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Template:Pallacanestro Varese 1969-70 Euroleague champions

Template:Pallacanestro Varese 1971-72 Euroleague champions

Template:Pallacanestro Varese 1972-73 Euroleague champions

Template:Pallacanestro Varese 1974-75 Euroleague champions

Template:Pallacanestro Varese 1975-76 Euroleague champions

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