article by Nicola Pucci
Undoubtedly everyone remembers the extraordinary epic of Valerio Bianchini’s Bancoroma, winner of a historic edition of the Champions Cup in 1984 after having triumphed in the championship the year before. Well, that success remains unforgettable for anyone who followed not only Virtus basketball, but the entire Italian basketball movement of the time, capable of dominating in Europe as never before. Nonetheless, around the capital, another victory stands out in the continental trophy cabinet, no later than two years later, 1986, when Banco di Roma once again won the Korac Cup in an all-Italian final with Mobilgirgi Caserta.
Mario De Sisti took Bianchini’s place on the benchwho accepted the task of leading the national team (he was sixth at the 1986 World Cup in Madrid and fifth at the 1987 European Championships in Athens), as well as the brilliant Larry Wright and the statuesque Clarence Kea, the two foreigners who made the fortunes of that team, they found two valid successors in the ex-Canturino Bruce Flowers and the Canadian Leo Rautins, also remaining unchanged the Italian hard core composed of captain Fulvio Polesello, Enrico Gilardi, Stefano Sbarra and Marco Solfrini. And if the year after the triumph in the European Cup the Romans, after finishing the regular season in first place only to lose in the play-off quarter-finals against Scavolini Pesaro, they won the Intercontinental Cup in Brazil, in the current season they are struggling in the championship, finishing tenth and seeing their path blocked in the play-offs by Cantù, not before having eliminated Granarolo Bologna. But in the Korac Cup, it’s really a different story.
In the third most important continental cup, obviously after the European Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup, we need to collect the legacy of Milan and Varese, who had competed in the final in Brussels on 21 March 1985 with the victory rewarding Dan Peterson’s team, 91-78 with 33 points from Russ Schoene. And it’s up to Berloni Torino, Mobilgirgi Caserta and Bancoroma to try to match that Italian triumphwith the Piedmontese and the Campanians going through the gauntlet of two easy direct elimination rounds (one against Universitat Adana and Spartak Pleven, the other against the Germans Bayreuth) and then entering the quarter-finals, to be played with the group formula (four which will promote the top-ranked teams to the semi-finals) and the stage of the competition in which De Sisti’s team and Divarese come into play, with the latter aiming to avenge the defeat in the final of the previous year.
In fact i four groups promote Varese among the best fourwhich in Group A prevails over Stella Rossa and Villeurbanne thanks to the difference in goals, the French of Antibeswho in Group B ousted Turin by overturning at home, 92-71 with 34 points from Bruce King, the fate of the compromised direct match in Italy, 78-89, the Bancoromain turn favored by the home and away match with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Group C, and Caserta, which in Group D adds five victories and only one defeat on the first day against Partizan. AND with three Italian teams in the semi-finals, the chances of replicating a derby in the final are really high.
The draw gives Antibes to Bancoroma, and for the Romans the first leg match in France, against a team that is dominating at home, is already worth a serious chance on the final, thanks to the 78-69 away success signed by Leo Rautins who scored 17 points, which he then translated into certainty upon his return to Palaeur83-75 with Flowers top scorer of the evening with 28 points. The fratricidal clash between Caserta and Varese, however, rewards Bogdan Tanjevic’s quintet, who, driven by the baskets of the Brazilian Oscar (26 + 27 points), overturned at home (91-75) the defeat that seemed definitive in Lombardy (71-84 with the Corny Thompson/Larry Micheaux duo scoring 52 points overall). And on March 20, 1986, at Pala Maggio of Caserta, the first act of the final is staged.
For the occasion, De Sisti decides not to reserve a “special treatment” to Oscar, left free to express his sensational offensive potential (and in fact he will sign a 34-point performance, with 7 out of 14 in heavy three-point shooting, but with a deficit of 4 out of 12 from two points), trying instead to limit the other four members of the Caserta quintet. And the move has the desired effects, with an almost total dominance under the basket (64 rebounds to 37), and in spite of the defense set up by Tanjevic, who entrusts Flowers to the young Gennaro Palmieri and Polesello to Fabio Ricci. Roma already extends after 7 minutes, 19-12 thanks to baskets from Flowers himself (14 final points) and Rautins (who starts from the bench and scores 20 points), and then expands the lead which takes on worrying proportions for Caserta, 41 -23 at 16′, then reduced to 45-33 at halftime. In the second half De Sisti’s team continues to dominate, acquiring a maximum margin after 23 minutes, 53-33 with Gilardi effective with 19 points and the same Sbarra and Solfrini in turn in double figures, 11 and 14 points respectively, first that Flowers commits the foolishness of getting himself sent off for protesting after being sanctioned for two consecutive fouls in attack. The American’s exit had the effect of regenerating the home quintet, which posted a 15-0 partial thanks to Oscar’s triples and the baskets ofstreet urchin” Nando Gentile reopens the game with 9 minutes remaining at the siren, 61-58 in favor of Roma. But it’s just an illusory flash, Roma dominates the field and with a new final sprint not only secures the victory, 84-78 with a last 10 meter basket by Oscar, but winning the Pala Maggio it also places a serious threat on the Cup.
Seven days later, on March 27, 1986, 15,000 spectators sit in the Palauer stands, under the illusion that the Korac Cup is truly within reach. This time De Sisti completely overturns the tactical plan of the first leg, squeezing Oscar in a suffocating grip that will keep him at just 19 points, with a paltry 6-of-20 shooting overall. And if the other foreigner from Caserta, the Uruguayan Horacio Lopez, is also limited to 16 points, 6 out of 18 shooting, the mountain to climb becomes almost insurmountable for Tanjevic’s team. Roma started well, taking an advantage that only Gentile (12 points to his credit) and Lopez tried to contain, before the usual Rautins, thrown into the fray during the game, made the first move, 29-22 at the 12th minute A flash from Oscar allows Mobilgirgi not only to make up for it, but even to put its head ahead, 33-32 at the 16th, before the half-time siren certifies a balance that gives Roma the advantage, 43-41, at the return to the changing rooms. The game is on, and Caserta, taking advantage of the good streak of Sandro Dell’Agnello (13 points with 6 out of 12 shooting) and the increase in fouls by Flowers who will be forced out after 30 minutes, takes a lead, 52- 47 in the 26th, which reopens the games of the double challenge. Oscar, however, also pays the price for 4 fouls that limit his ardor, and with a partial of 10-2 De Sisti’s team takes the lead again, 59-54 after 30 minutes, before Flowers’ fifth foul opens a final pulsating quarter of the game. Tanjevic plays the card of the 1-3-1 zone which ensnares Roma and Caserta makes a new overtaking, 67-65 at minute 36, but the hand of Sbarra (17 points), Gilardi (15 points) and Rautins (best scorer of the evening with 21 points) does not tremble, and at the siren, 73-72, it is time to lift the trophy.
The 1985/1986 Korac Cup finds a place on the Banco di Roma noticeboard, next to the Champions Cup. And rest assured, it really packs a punch.
The final scores
Thursday 3/20/1986: Mobilgirgi Caserta-Bancoroma 78-84 (33-45)
Mobilgirgi: Lopez 14 (5/15, 0/2), Gentile 8 (3/7, 0/3), Esposito, Dell’Agnello (0/9), Capone 12 (3/6, 2/3), Oscar 34 (4/12, 7/14), Generali 5 (0/1), Chiusolo ne, Ricci 5 (2/7), Palmieri. All. Tanjevic
Bancoroma: Bastianelli ne, Sbarra 11 (5/10), Picozzi ne, Flowers 14 (6/11), Rautins 20 (6/14, 1/1), Gilardi 19 (4/11, 1/4), Polesello 4 (1/8), Solfrini 14 (4/10), Rossi 2 (1/1), Valente in All. De Sisti
Thursday 3/27/1986: Bancoroma-Mobilgirgi Caserta 73-72 (43-41)
Bancoroma: Bastianelli ne, Sbarra 17 (7/10), Picozzi ne, Flowers 12 (5/7), Rautins 21 (5/10, 1/3), Gilardi 15 (4/9, 2/3), Polesello 3 (0/5), Solfrini 5 (2/6), Rossi none, Valente none All. De Sisti
Mobilgirgi: Lopez 16 (4/13, 2/5), Gentile 12 (5/9), Esposito ne, Dell’Agnello 13 (6/12), Capone (0/2 from three), Oscar 19 (5/14 , 1/6), Generali 5 (1/4), Scaranzin ne, Ricci 7 (3/5), Palmieri ne All. Tanjevic