Pallacanestro Varese

Openjobmetis Varese
Leagues	LBA
Founded	1945; 79 years ago (1945)
History	Pallacanestro Varese (1946–present)
Arena	Palasport Lino Oldrini
Capacity	5,107
Location	Varese, Italy
Team colors	White, Red
CEO	Luis Scola
President	Antonio Bulgheroni
Head coach	Herman Mandole
Ownership	Luis Scola, Varese nel cuore s.c. a r.l., Il Basket Siamo Noi
Championships	10 Italian Leagues 4 Italian Cups 1 Italian Supercup 3 Intercontinental Cups 5 EuroLeagues 2 Saporta Cups
Website	pallacanestrovarese.it
Home Away

Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA.

For past club sponsorship names, see sponsorship names.

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 its having a main sponsor in the mid-1990s (something unusual in the Italian basketball league), and the choice of its franchise name, the Varese Roosters.

Since their creation, Pallancanestro Varese has won 10 Italian first-tier level LBA titles, in the years 1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and their last Italian League title, won 21 years after the previous title, in 1999. With 10 titles, Pallacanestro Varese is the third most winning team ever in the Italian League, 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 in the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague), and played in ten finals in a row, winning 5 of them, in the years 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. Between 1970 and 1975, the club was named Ignis Varese. What was the club's golden age had begun some years before, as Varese conquered the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 1966, and repeated the same title 4 and 7 years later, in the middle of the club's greatest decade in 1970 and 1973. Varese accomplished the great feat of winning the Triple Crown, winning all the trophies available in 1973, with the legendary Professor Aca Nikolić as the team's head coach. Varese also won two championships of the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup, in 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 Italian second division. Soon, the club took its revenge, coming up once again to the Italian top-tier level league, and after 5 years time became the real team to watch in the Italian League's playoffs, as it succeeded in winning its historical 10th Italian League title in 1999, with Carlo Recalcati (who later coached the Italian national team), leading the way as the club's head coach. Varese has never repeated that triumph so far, but that success is still remembered to this day. Varese has been trying to return to the top of the Italian League and European-wide competitions in the years since.

Openjobmetis Varese roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age F 0 Akobundu-Ehiogu, Kaodirichi 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 25 – (1999-10-07)7 October 1999 SG 1 Harris, Jordan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 27 – (1997-10-09)9 October 1997 SF 2 Alviti, Davide 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 28 – (1996-11-05)5 November 1996 F 5 Gray, Justin 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 28 – (1995-12-15)15 December 1995 F/C 9 Tyus, Alex 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 36 – (1988-01-08)8 January 1988 PG 13 Librizzi, Matteo 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 70 kg (154 lb) 22 – (2002-04-06)6 April 2002 F 18 Virginio, Nicolò 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 21 – (2003-03-18)18 March 2003 SF 24 Assui N’guessan, Elisee 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 18 – (2006-01-03)3 January 2006 C 28 Fall, Abdel 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 33 – (1991-01-24)24 January 1991 F 44 Brown, Gabe 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 24 – (2000-03-05)5 March 2000 PG 50 Hands, Jaylen 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 25 – (1999-02-12)12 February 1999 F 92 Johnson, Jaron 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 32 – (1992-05-05)5 May 1992	Head coach Herman Mandole Assistant coach(es) Marco Legovich Federico Renzetti Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: November 8, 2024

Total titles: 25

• Italian League

Winners (10): 1960–61, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1998–99

Runners-up (10): 1948–49, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1989–90

• Italian Cup

Winners (4): 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73

Runners-up (5): 1971–72, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1998–99, 2012–13

• Italian Supercup

Winners (1): 1999

Runners-up (1): 2013

• EuroLeague

Winners (5): 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76

Runners-up (5): 1970–71, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79

Semifinalists (1): 1964–65

• FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct)

Winners (2): 1966–67, 1979–80

Semifinalists (2): 1967–68, 1980–81

• FIBA Korać Cup (defunct)

Runners-up (1): 1984–85

Semifinalists (1): 1985–86

• FIBA Europe Cup

Runners-up (1): 2015–16

• FIBA Intercontinental Cup

Winners (3): 1966, 1970, 1973

Runners-up (4): 1967, 1974, 1976, 1977

3rd place (1): 1979

4th place (1): 1978

• McDonald's Championship

4th place (1): 1999

• Triple Crown

Winners (2): 1969–70, 1972–73

Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:^[1]

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• 
  City crest
  (1997–99)
• 
  Roosters crest
  (1999–01)
• 
  Casti Group crest
  (2004–05)
• 
  Cimberio Varese crest
  (2010–14)
• 
  Openjobmetis Varese crest
  (2014–present)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pallacanestro Varese.

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