Aquila Basket Trento

Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino.

Dolomiti Energia Trento
2019–20 Aquila Basket Trento season
LeaguesLBA
Founded1995 (1995)
HistoryAquila Basket Trento
(1995–present)
ArenaPalaTrento
Capacity4,360
LocationTrento, Trentino, Italy
Team colorsWhite and Black
         
PresidentLuigi Longhi
Team managerSalvatore Trainotti
Head coachNicola Brienza
Championships1 Serie A2
1 LegaDue Cup
Websiteaquilabasket.it

It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur divisions to the first division LBA in less than a decade. It plays in the LBA as of the 2017–18 season.

History
The PalaTrento, home venue of the club
Head coach Maurizio Buscaglia led the team to the LBA and to two LBA Finals

Aquila Basket Trento was founded in 1995 from the merger of two clubs playing the seventh tier Serie D, Dolomiti Sport B.C. Trento and Pallacanestro Villazzano, under the impetus of their respective presidents; Gianni Brusinelli and Marco Angelini. In 2000, Giovanni Zobele became club president and the same season Aquila Basket was promoted to the Serie C2, later moving up to the Serie C1 in 2002.[1]

Long serving coach Maurizio Buscaglia was nominated before the 2003–04 season,[2] he would help the club win the C1 the next season to be promoted to the fourth Serie B2, adding the C1 Cup with a 77–68 win over Navarra Ferentino.[1][3] Staying there for four years, it lost the promotion playoffs on game 5 in 2005–06, with Buscaglia leaving the following season. Trento won the 2007–08 regular season but could not obtain promotion to the Divisione Nazionale A until buying Lumezzane's sporting rights in 2009.[1][3]

For the club's first season in the third division, Vincenzo Esposito – notable for his playing career - was chosen for the coaching job, leading the club to the ninth place. Buscaglia returned to Trento in 2010, guiding the side to eighth in the league, though that meant it had to play in the relegation playoffs as the league was contracting, with their subsequent loss condemning them to relegation.[4] However, Trento - having earlier confirmed Busacaglia - was granted a wildcard by the league to stay at that level.[5]

On 18 January 2012, Luigi Longhi replaced Zobele as president. In the course of the same 2011–12 season, Trento earned a promotion to the LegaDue after beating BLS Chieti on 27 May 2012 to win the semifinals series 3–1, they went on to win the league outright after toppling Ferentino in the final. Trento adapted quickly to the professional second division, lifting the LegaDue Cup – organised in the PalaTrento - by beating Pistoia 84–76 in the final, also reaching the promotion playoffs that same season. In 2013–14 it went one better, finishing the regular season in first place before downing Agrigento (3–0) Torino (3–2) and finally Capo d'Orlando (3–0) to earn a historic promotion to the first division Serie A.[1]

Their first season in the elite was an unanticipated success as the promotees, led by Serie A MVP Tony Mitchell (also league top scorer), finished fourth in the regular season whilst the organisation had two other awardees at the Lega Basket Awards, with Buscaglia coach of the year and GM Salvatore Trainotti best executive (repeating the LegaDue awards they earned in 2014).[6]

Qualifying for the title playoffs for their first season in the elite, Trento won the first game of the quarterfinal series against Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari 81–70 for another record,[7] but could not make their home advantage count as they then lost a closely contested game at the PalaTrento before being defeated in both away games to the eventual champions.[3][8] That result did ensure the side would participate in a European competition for the first time ever, earning a place in the second-tier EuroCup for 2015–16. The club reached the semi-finals in the competition.

In the 2016–17 season, Trento reached the Italian League Finals for the first time in club history after beating Olimpia Milano in the semi-finals series 4–1.[9] In the 2017 LBA Finals, Trento lost to Reyer Venezia, 2–the 2017–18 season, Trento reached the Italian League Finals for the second time in club history after beating Reyer Venezia in the semi-finals series. In the 2018 LBA Finals, Trento lost to Olimpia Milano, 2–4.

Players
Dolomiti Energia Trento roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 0 Kelly, Rashard 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 24 – (1995-08-22)22 August 1995
SG 1 Blackmon, James 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 25 – (1995-04-25)25 April 1995
PG 4 Craft, Aaron 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 29 – (1991-02-12)12 February 1991
SF 5 Gentile, Alessandro 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 27 – (1992-11-12)12 November 1992
PF 7 Pascolo, Davide 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 29 – (1990-12-14)14 December 1990
SG 9 Mian, Fabio 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 28 – (1992-02-07)7 February 1992
PG 10 Forray, Andrés Pablo (C) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 34 – (1986-03-20)20 March 1986
F/C 14 Mezzanotte, Andrea 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 22 – (1998-04-08)8 April 1998
C 23 Ladurner, Maximilian 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 18 – (2001-12-06)6 December 2001
C 25 Lechthaler, Luca 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 115 kg (254 lb) 34 – (1986-02-23)23 February 1986
SG 34 Picarelli, Matteo 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 19 – (2001-05-26)26 May 2001
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Emanuele Molin
  • Davide Dusmet
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: January 28, 2020

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

Notable players

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

Season by season
Season Tier League Pos. Domestic cups European competitions
2011–12 3 DNA 1st DNA CupSF
2012–13 2 LegaDue 4th LegaDue CupC
2013–14 2 DNA Gold 1st A2 CupRU
2014–15 1 Serie A 5th Italian CupQF
2015–16 1 Serie A 8th Italian CupSF 2 EurocupSF
2016–17 1 LBA 2nd
2017–18 1 LBA 2nd 2 EuroCupT16
2018–19 1 LBA 6th 2 EuroCupRS

Honours

Domestic competitions

Sponsorship names

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

  • Sosi Trento: (1995–2005)
  • Bitumcalor Trento: (2005–2013)
  • Aquila Basket Trento: (2013–2014)
  • Dolomiti Energia Trento: (2014–present)

Notes

    References
    1. "Storia" [History]. AquilaBasket.it (in Italian). Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    2. Apicella, Nicola (13 June 2014). "Basket, Trento si prende la A: Non siamo impreparati" [Basketball, Trento grabs the [Serie] A: “We are not unprepared”]. Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    3. "Club profile: Dolomiti Energia Trento". EurocupBasketball.com. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    4. Peretti, Daniele (7 June 2011). "Il Bitumcalor riparte da Buscaglia" [Bitumcalor restarts with Buscaglia]. TrentinoCorriere delle Alpi.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
    5. "Ripescaggio ufficiale L'Aquila resta in A". L'Adige.it. 13 June 2011.
    6. "Basket, Lega Awars 2015: pioggia di premi su Trento, Mitchell MVP di serie A1, Trainotti dirigente dell'anno, Buscaglia coach of the year" [Basketball, Lega Awards 2015: heap of awards for Trento, Mitchell Serie A MVP, Trainotti executive of the year, Buscaglia coach of the year]. GazzettadelleValli.it (in Italian). 8 May 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    7. "Basket, playoff Serie A, quarti gara-1: Milano-Bologna 90-67, Trento-Sassari 81-70" [Basketball, Serie A playoffs, quarterfinals game 1: Milano-Bologna 90-67, Trento-Sassari 81-70]. Gazzetta.it (in Italian). 18 May 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    8. "Basket, play off: Sassari si regala Milano, finisce la favola di Trento" [Basketball, playoffs: Sassari treat themselves to Milano, Trento's fairytale is over]. Repubblica.it (in Italian). 24 May 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    9. "Trento disgraced Milano and advanced to the finals". Eurohoops.net. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
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