Gianluigi Porelli

Gianluigi "Gigi" Porelli (10 June 1930 – 4 September 2009) was an Italian basketball executive, who served as president of Virtus Bologna from 1968 until 1991.

Porelli has been widely regarded as one of the greatest contributors to the growth and development of basketball in Italy and Europe.

Gianluigi Porelli was born in Mantua in 1930.

In his youth he practiced swimming, boxing and, above all, tennis, in which he achieved good results, reaching the third category.

Arrived in Bologna in 1949 to attend the Faculty of Law at the University of Bologna, he joined Virtus Tennis, a branch of SEF Virtus Bologna, first as a player and later as a manager.

In 1968, the lawyer Gianluigi Porelli was appointed by the then president of the multi-sport club, Giovanni Elkan, at the head of the basketball section of SEF Virtus Bologna.

Alternately nicknamed "Torquemada" or "Robespierre" for his quick and often dictatorial methods, or, more frequently, L'Avvocato ("The Lawyer"), Porelli has been one of the most prominent figures in the history of Virtus which, through initiatives often unpopular but almost always winning, definitively carried towards professionalism.

As soon as he arrived, at only 38 years old, Porelli sacked coach Šíp and appointed Renzo Ranuzzi, a former player.

After another poor result in the 1969–70 season under coach Nello Paratore, in 1970, Porelli hired Black V's legendary coach Vittorio Tracuzzi and sold the best player of the time, Gianfranco Lombardi, unleashing a popular uprising that even ended up in court.

In 1970, thanks to Porelli, Virtus was also one of the main proponents and founders of the Lega Basket, the governing body of the top-tier level professional Italian basketball league.

In the same year, Virtus broke away from the multi sports club, becoming a joint-stock company.

Thanks to this choice, which was highly criticised at the time, Porelli definitively healed the club's finances.

In 1971, Porelli hired the American player John Fultz who, supported by important Italian players like Gianni Bertolotti and Luigi Serafini, succeeded in placing the team 5th in the national championship, the best result since 1967–68.

In the following season, the team, composed by the same players and coached by Nico Messina, arrived 6th.

In the following season, Porelli signed Jim McMillian, a 1972 NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.

McMillian, who was immediately nicknamed by Virtus fans as Il Duca Nero ("The Black Duke"), led the team achieving a back-to-back, winning its ninth titles against Cantù.

The team took part also in the European Champions Cup, where it was eliminated in the semi-finals group stage.

At the end of the season, Driscoll’s two year contract had expired.

In 1973, Porelli opened a new season of triumphs, thanks to a partnership with Sinudyne, a famous Italian domestic appliances company, and especially with the engagement of the young American coach Dan Peterson, coming from the Chile's national basketball team.

Virtus immediately won its first Italian Cup in 1973–74 season, which was club's first title since 1955–56.

In the following season, Virtus signed Tom McMillen, a 22-years-old player from the University of Maryland, who was selected with the 9th overall pick by the Buffalo Braves during the 1974 NBA draft.

He signed with the Braves but postponed his entry into the NBA to attend the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

McMillen lived and studied in the UK, but he moved to Bologna during the weekends to play basketball.

At the end of the season, characterized by outstanding performances by McMillen, the team placed 4th in the national championship and was eliminated at the quarterfinals of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1975, McMillen started his career in the NBA, so Porelli and Peterson signed Terry Driscoll, a former NBA player and 4th overall pick in 1969 draft.

Thanks to Driscoll's leadership and the fundamental support of Italian players like Carlo Caglieris, Gianni Bertolotti, Marco Bonamico and Luigi Serafini, Virtus won its seventh national championship, the first one after twenty years.

In 1976–77, Virtus ended first in the regular season, however it lost the championship finals against Varese, by 2–0.

In the following season, the Black V succeeded in reaching the national finals, but nonetheless it lost 2–1 against Varese again.

The team also reached the final of the Cup Winner's Cup, but lost 84–82 against Gabetti Cantù.

In 1978, after two consecutive second places, coach Peterson left the Black V to sign with Virtus historic rival, Olimpia Milan.

This move was heavily criticised by Black V's fans, but it was approved by Porelli himself.

However, despite the controversies which rose around his farewell, Peterson's legacy was huge: the American coach deeply changed the team's organization and contributed in bringing back Virtus to the top of Italian basketball after twenty years of struggles.

After Peterson's departure, Terry Driscoll was appointed new head coach.

Porelli signed also Krešimir Ćosić, one of the best centers in Europe; the team was also composed by great Italian players as Renato Villalta, Carlo Caglieris and the captain Gianni Bertolotti.

In the national finals, Virtus faced its former coach, Dan Peterson and his new team, Olimpia.

Despite the great expectations around a hard-fought final, the Black V easily won the title in only two games.

The team also reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup, where it was eliminated for only one point by the Dutch EBBC.

In 2007, he was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame.

However, Ranuzzi lasted one year only, due to the poor result of the team, which ended the season at the 10th place.

Despite Tracuzzi's comeback, the team placed 10th once again.