On this day 20 years ago, Fortitudo Bologna qualified for their first, and thus far unique EuroLeague Final throughout an epic win over Mens Sana Siena in an exciting Final Four opening match that the blue-and-white team from the capital city of Italian basketball won in the overtime after failing to close it on several occasions in the regular time.
Under the lead of Jasmin Repeša, confirmed at the helm of the squad after picking up the head coach position during the previous season to replace Matteo Boniciolli, eventually leading the team towards Serie A Finals, Fortitudo committed to the tournament with a respectable roster recruited by General Manager Zoran Savić.
Miloš Vujanić, acquired from Partizan, demonstrated himself to fully deserve to be considered a heir of Aleksander Đorđević. In the guard spot, the Serbian joined captain Gianluca Basile, Gianmarco Pozzecco and a young Marco Belinelli.
Matjaž Smodiš was another key addition to the Bologna roster as the Slovenian forward, along with his fellow Slovenian Erazem Lorbek, Finnish international Hanno Mottola, and Belgian center Tomas Van Den Spiegel, strengthened Fortitudo’s rotation in the paint.
Argentinian international Carlos Delfino and US perimetral swingman AJ Guyton, moreover, filled the ‘three’ spot in Repeša’s rotation along with Patricio Prato, another Argentinian, and a young Stefano Mancinelli.
All across the 2003-2004 campaign, Fortitudo had got in Mens Sana Siena a main competitor both in Italian Serie A, where the team from Tuscany swept Bologna 3-0 in the Finals, and in Europe, where the blue-and-white Eagles eliminated the green-and-white team in the EuroLeague semi-final.
Filled of former Fortitudo professionals, starting with head coach Carlo Recalcati and captain Giacomo Galanda, along with center Roberto Chiacig, Mens Sana could count on an equally interesting roster.
In the guard spot, Macedonian Vrbica Stefanov and Serbian Dušan Vukčević paired with high-performing US players the caliber of David Vanterpool and Bootsy Thornton.
While Greek Michalis Kakiouzis and Lithuanian Mindaugas Žukauskas filled the ‘three’ and ‘four’ spots along with Galanda, David Andersen shared the center position with Chiacig.
The game: Mens Sana Siena vs. Fortitudo Bologna 102:103 AOT – April 29, 2004
Bologna and Siena qualified for EuroLeague Final Four after sharing third place in Group B, with a record of 8 wins and 6 losses. In the second phase, the two teams closed at first place Group E and Group F respectively, with records of 5 wins and 1 loss for Fortitudo, and, ex aequo with Benetton Treviso, 4 wins and 2 losses for Mens Sana.
With almost no Italian supporters following the game in Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena due to the decision of the two groups of organized supporters, Fortitudo’s Fossa dei Leoni and Mens Sana’s Commandos Tigre, to boycott the event due to the location, Bologna and Siena provided a highly offensive game with frequent changes of lead.
Žukauskas, Stefanov helped Mens Sana enter the game with a 14:7 run, but Fortitudo, led by Delfino and Smodiš, delivered a counter-break to take a 3-point lead at the end of the first quarter (20:23).
Siena’s Vanterpool committing a fourth foul allowed Bologna to build a double-digit edge prior to the long break (36:47) as Pozzecco and Delfino delivered a 0:9 run to close the first half.
Back on the court, Fortitudo took a biggest, 13-point lead thanks to Vujanić and Van Den Spiegel (41:54), but Mens Sana found their strength in Kakiouzis and Stefanov to bounce back with a 9:2 break, and reduce their deficit to 2 points at the end of the third quarter (62:64).
In a point-to-point fourth quarter, Bologna, supported by Delfino and Mottola, managed to take a 4-point lead with 32 seconds to go (85:89). Nevertheless, a three-pointer from Kakiouzis with 10 seconds to go allowed Siena to tie the score (90:90) and, mainly, send the game to overtime.
The extra-time was a summary of the whole game. Fortitudo, led by Smodiš and Pozzecco, entered the overtime with a 2:6 run (92:96), but Mens Sana, with Vanterpool and Stefanov fouling out, took a 1-point lead throughout a three-point game from Kakiouzis with 2 minutes to go (97:96).
In the last minute, Delfino hit a triple to put Bologna ahead again (100:102), Thornton was perfect from the charity line (102:102), and Delfino, again, made one free-throw on two tentatives to give Fortitudo a decisive, 1-point lead (102:103), before Vukčević missed a three-pointer with 1 second to go.
Carlos Delfino closed the game as Fortitudo’s top scorer with 27 points and 5 three-pointers made, Matjaž Smodiš followed with 14 points, while Miloš Vujanić, Hanno Mottola added 12 points each from their end.
The team led by Jasmin Repeša, in particular, outplayed the opponents only with respect to 3-points made (7:23), whereas Carlo Recalcati‘s squad better performed in terms of 2-points made (29:20) and rebounds (42:31).
Mens Sana, in particular, was led by Bootsy Thornton with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Michalis Kakiouzis with 23 points and 7 rebounds, and David Andersen with 17 points.
Heart-breaking road wins in the Group stage
In addition to a key win in the semi-final, Fortitudo’s path in the 2003-2004 EuroLeague was characterized by a series of further heart-breaking wins that allowed the blue-and-white Eagles from the capital city of Italian basketball to qualify for the Top 16 and, then, get access to the Final Four for the second time in their history.
Bologna, in fact, entered the tournament with a home win over Krka Novo Mesto, followed by three losses in a row to Panathinakos and Žalgiris Kaunas on the road, and Maccabi Tel Aviv at home in the overtime.
Fortitudo interrupted the losing streak, and eventually started a series of four wins in a row over Mens Sana Siena at home (95:86), Unicaja Málaga and Krka Novo Mesto on the road, throughout a heart-breaking road success in Moscow over CSKA (70:71).
A perfectly balanced game, with ties in almost all the quarters (22:22, 9:10, 21:21, 18:18) was decided by 2 free-throws made by Hanno Mottola with 4 seconds to go, while Gianmarco Pozzecco, Matjaž Smodiš poured in 23 points with 3 three-pointers, and 17 points with 7 rebounds respectively.
Following an overtime loss to Panathinakos and a win over Žalgiris, both in Bologna’s Paladozza, Fortitudo, prior to closing the first stage with two losses to CSKA (home) and Siena (76:69 on the road), and a win over Unicaja (home), pulled off a second statement success by downing Maccabi in Tel Aviv (89:99).
27 points and 7 rebounds from Matjaž Smodiš, 24 points and 6 triples made from Miloš Vujanić, 16 points and 5 assists from Carlos Delfino helped Bologna triumph in a match that the blue-and-white Eaglesled in its entirety (23:24 after the first quarter, 35:40 at the long break, 61:70 prior to the last interval).
Heart breaking wins also in the Top 16
Clutch situations were decisive for Fortitudo also in the second stage of the tournament, as Bologna pulled off two heart-breaking, key wins in the last two games of the TOP 16 after earning two home successes over Union Olimpija Ljubljana and Pau Orthez, and losing to Efes Pilsen and Union Olimpija on the road.
In a game where Fortitudo always trailed to Efes Pilsen in the score, it was an ‘ignorant triple’ hit by captain Gianluca Basile with 3,80 seconds to go to provide the home side with a 1-point win (76:75), and keep Bologna’s chances to qualify for Final Four alive.
Gianluca Basile, in particular, closed a stellar game with 21 points and 6 three-pointers made, Carlos Delfino poured in 15 points, and Miloš Vujanić, Hanno Mottola added 12 points each.
The blue-and-white squad from the capital city of Italian basketball, then, secured a ticket to Tel Aviv by downing Pau Orthez on the road (80:81) in another heart-breaking match decided by two hit free-throws from Miloš Vujanić with 3 seconds to go.
As in the previous match, Gianluca Basile, Hanno Mottola, Carlos Delfino and Miloš Vujanić were Bologna’s top scorers with 18, 17, 16 and 13 points respectively.
The outcome
As not all the stories have got a happy end, Fortitudo’s path in the 2003-2004 EuroLeague ended in a tough manner.
Though reaching the Finals of the top-tier tournament of Europe was a historic achievement, Bologna, in fact, suffered a 44-point loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv(118:74).
In spite of receiving the highest point differential ever in a EuroLeague final game, at least as writing, Fortitudo’s second place remains a remarkable page of the history of the club.
Fortitudo, in fact, traditionally hooked, and still hooks supporters worldwide throughout frequent losses and continuos suffering, regardless of titles and categories.
Matteo Cazzulani
@MatteoCazzulani
@matejkatsouranis
Matej Katsouranis Basketball 
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