Pallacanestro Varese

Openjobmetis Varese
Leagues	Serie A FIBA Europe Cup
Founded	1945
History	Pallacanestro Varese (1946–present)
Arena	PalaWhirlpool
Arena Capacity	5,300
Location	Varese, Italy
Team colors	White, Red
President	Stefano Coppa
Head coach	Paolo Moretti
Championships	10 Italian Leagues 4 Italian Cups 1 Italian Supercup 3 Intercontinental Cups 5 Euroleagues 2 Saporta Cups
Website	pallacanestrovarese.it
Uniforms
Home Away

Pallacanestro Varese, also known as Openjobmetis Varese by sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, it plays in the first division Serie A as of the 2015-16 season.

For past club sponsorship names, see sponsorship names.

History

Ottorino Flaborea lifts the 1970 European Cup trophy

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 Triple Crown, winning all the trophies available in 1973 with legendary 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 in 1999, with the Italian national team's coach Carlo Recalcati. Varese has never repeated that triumph so far, but that success still echoes over Italy to this day. Varese is trying to return to the top Italian and European competition in the years to come.

Current roster

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

Openjobmetis Varese roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Age PF 0 Davies, Brandon 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) – (1991-07-25)25 July 1991 F/C 1 Faye, Mouhammad 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) – (1985-09-14)14 September 1985 PG 2 Wayns, Maalik 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) – (1991-05-02)2 May 1991 PG 5 Ukic, Roko 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) – (1984-05-11)11 May 1984 PG 6 Varanauskas, Ovidijus 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) – (1991-02-23)23 February 1991 F/C 8 Molinaro, Lorenzo 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) – (1992-09-16)16 September 1992 PG 10 Cavaliero, Daniele 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) – (1984-01-10)10 January 1984 SF 11 Shepherd, Jevohn 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) – (1986-04-08)8 April 1986 F/C 12 Campani, Luca 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) – (1990-02-18)18 February 1990 F 21 Ferrero, Giancarlo 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) – (1988-08-29)29 August 1988 G/F 43 Thompson, Mychel 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) – (1988-06-01)1 June 1988 G 55 Galloway, Ramon 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) – (1991-02-10)10 February 1991	Head coach Attilio Caja Assistant coach(es) Ugo Ducarello Matteo Jemoli Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: September 14, 2015

Honours

Total titles: 25

PalaWhirlpool

Domestic competitions

• Italian League
  • Winners (10): 1960-61, 1963-64, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1998-99
• Italian Cup
  • Winners (4): 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73
• Italian Supercup
  • Winners (1): 1999

European competitions

• Euroleague
  • Winners (5): 1970, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1975-76
  • Runners-up (5): 1970-71, 1973-74, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79
• FIBA Saporta Cup
  • Winners (2): 1966-67, 1979-80
• FIBA Korać Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1984-85

Worldwide competitions

• FIBA Intercontinental Cup
  • Winners (3): 1966, 1970, 1973
  • Runners-up (4): 1967, 1974, 1976, 1977

Unofficial

• Triple Crown
  • Winners (2): 1969-70, 1970-73

International record

Season	Achievement	Notes
Euroleague
1964-65	Semi-finals	eliminated by CSKA Moscow, 57-58 (L) in Varese and 67-69 (L) in Moscow
1969-70	European Champions	defeated CSKA Moscow, 79-74 in the final of European Champions Cup in Sarajevo
1970-71	Final	lost to CSKA Moscow, 53-67 in the final (Antwerp)
1971-72	European Champions	defeated Jugoplastika Split, 70-69 in the final of European Champions Cup in Tel Aviv
1972-73	European Champions	defeated CSKA Moscow, 71-66 in the final of European Champions Cup in Liège
1973-74	Final	lost to Real Madrid, 82-84 in the final (Nantes)
1974-75	European Champions	defeated Real Madrid, 79-66 in the final of European Champions Cup in Antwerp
1975-76	European Champions	defeated Real Madrid, 81-74 in the final of European Champions Cup in Geneva
1976-77	Final	lost to Maccabi Elite, 77-78 in the final (Belgrade)
1977-78	Final	lost to Real Madrid, 67-75 in the final (Munich)
1978-79	Final	lost to Bosna, 93-96 in the final (Grenoble)
Saporta Cup
1966–67	Saporta Cup Champions	defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv, 77-67 (W) in Varese and 67-68 (L) in Tel Aviv in the double final of European Cup Winner's Cup
1967–68	Semi-finals	eliminated by AEK, 78-60 (W) in Varese and 52-72 (L) in Athens
1979–80	Saporta Cup Champions	defeated Gabetti Cantù, 90-88 in the final of European Cup Winner's Cup in Milan
1980–81	Semi-finals	eliminated by Squibb Cantù, 84-94 (L) in Varese and 65-78 (L) in Cantù
Korać Cup
1984–85	Final	lost to Simac Milano, 78–91 in the final (Brussels)
1985–86	Semi-finals	eliminated by Mobilgirgi Caserta, 84-71 (W) in Varese and 75-91 (L) in Caserta
1995–96	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Stefanel Milano, 72-81 (L) in Varese and 89-90 (L) in Milan
Eurocup
2002-03	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Adecco Estudiantes, 59-77 (L) in Madrid and 88-101 (L) in Varese
2003-04	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Real Madrid, 67-68 (L) in Madrid and 57-62 (L) in Varese
Intercontinental Cup
1966	Intercontinental Champions	defeated Corinthians 66-59 in the final of Intercontinental Cup in Madrid
1967	Final	lost to Akron Wingfoots, 72–78 in the final (Rome)
1970	Intercontinental Champions	Intercontinental Cup Champions with a 4-0 record in a league tournament in Varese
1973	Intercontinental Champions	Intercontinental Cup Champions with a 3-1 record in a league tournament in São Paulo
1974	Runners-up	Runners-up with a 4-1 record in a league tournament in Mexico City
1975	5th place	5th place with a 2-3 record in a league tournament in Varese
1976	Runners-up	Runners-up with a 4-1 record in a league tournament in Buenos Aires
1977	Runners-up	Runners-up with a 3-2 record in a league tournament in Madrid
1978	4th place	4th place with a 1-3 record in a league tournament in Buenos Aires
1979	3rd place	3rd place with a 2-2 record in a league tournament in São Paulo
McDonald's Championship
1999	4th place	4th place in Milan, lost to San Antonio Spurs 86-96 in the semi-final, lost to Žalgiris 78-97 in the 3rd place game

Notable players

See also: Category:Pallacanestro Varese players

Ivano Bisson Paolo Conti Marcelo Damiao Alessandro De Pol Fabrizio Della Fiori Massimo Ferraiuolo Giacomo Galanda Guido Iellini Andrea Meneghin Dino Meneghin Luigi Mentasti Nico Messina Alberto Mottini Aldo Ossola Gianmarco Pozzecco Edoardo Rusconi Stefano Rusconi Romeo Sacchetti Enrico Ravaglia Francesco Vescovi Paolo Vittori Marino Zanatta Cristiano Zanus Fortes Antonio Zorzi

Anthony Bowie Frank Brickowski Bill Campion Geno Carlisle Tim Bassett Derek Hamilton Delonte Holland Cedric Hordges Frank Johnson Antony Gennari Kevin Magee Stan McKenzie Billy Keys Rusty LaRue Pat Cummings John Deveraux Bill Edwards Wes Matthews Jerry McCullough Larry Micheaux Corny Thompson Derrel Washington Terry White Eddie Lee Wilkins

Leon Wood Charlie Yelverton Reggie Theus Tyrone Nesby Norman Nolan Charles Pittman Bob Morse DeJuan Collins Daniel Farabello Gabriel Fernández Arijan Komazec Mate Skelin Veljko Mršić Boris Gorenc Sani Bečirović Aleksandar Ćapin Alain Digbeu Kristjan Kangur Janar Talts Daniel Santiago Richard Petruška Pavel Podkolzin Manuel Raga Nikola Lončar

Fedon Matheou D. J. Mbenga

Notable coaches

• Enrico Garbosi (1956-62)
• Vittorio Tracuzzi (1966-68)
• Nico Messina (1968-69 & 1977-78)
• Aleksandar Nikolić (1969-73)
• Sandro Gamba (1973-77)
• Edoardo Rusconi (1978-80, 1993-97 & 2003-04)
• Joe Isaac (1986-89 & 1992-93)
• Carlo Recalcati (1997-99 & 2010-12)
• Valerio Bianchini (1999 & 2007-08)
• Grégor Beugnot (2001-03)
• Ruben Magnano (2004-07)

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 (2007–2014)
• OpenjobMetis (2014-present)

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer
1997–1999	Kappa
1999–2001	Reebok
2002–2003	(unspecified)
2003–2006	Macron
2006-2008	Nike
2008-2010	Aries
2010–2014	Macron

Colors and badge

• Varese-Stemma.png

  City crest
  (1997–99)

• Varese Roosters Logo.jpg

  Roosters crest
  (1999–01)

• 

  Casti Group crest
  (2004–05)

• 

  Cimberio Varese crest
  (2010–14)

• 

  Openjobmetis Varese crest
  (2014–present)

External links

• Official Website (Italian)
• Eurobasket.com Team Page
• Varese Basket Blog (Italian)