1971–72 Serie A (basketball)

1970–71 1972–73 Serie A #0079B9 white 1971–72 Simmenthal Milano 19th title Ignis Varese Stella Azzurra Roma 12 22 24 October 1971 – 4 April 1972 USA 20px John Fultz 29.8 S. Milano 113–78 Udine (16 January 1972) 12 gamesIgnis Varese 9 gamesStella Azzurra Roma The 1971–72 Serie A basketball championship was the 49th season of the Serie A, the highest professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season ran from 24 October 1971 to 4 April 1972, twelve teams played 22 games each. As Simmenthal Milano and Ignis Varese ended joint first with an equal head-to-head record, a single playoff game decided the title for the second year running. Milano won the game, played in Rome, to break Varese's three-year title streak, taking home their nineteenth overall title (and a spot in the European Champions Cup). To accommodate a league expansion to 14 teams due the following year, only one side was relegated that season, newly promoted Stella Azzurra Roma went straight back to the Serie B.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,20/articleid,0139_01_1971_0248_0020_4803483/ Ricomonciano i duelli dei giganti 23 October 1971 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian The giants' battles start anew Preseason Holders Ignis Varese were seen as the favourites to retain their title, with habitual rivals Simmenthal Milano – whom they had beat in a title playoff game the previous season – as challengers. Ambitious teams Forst Cantù and Splügen Venezia could take a few points off the leading duo but were not considered as strong enough to join the title fight. A Nikolić coached Ignis had kept all their major players, with star Mexican Manuel Raga complemented by Italian internationals Dino Meneghin, Ottorino Flaborea, and Ivan Bisson among others. The addition of Tony Gennari and Marino Zanatta (both from Mobilquattro Milano, the re-sponsored All'Onestà) had created an abundance of star players in their squad, something ironically seen as their only potential weakness. Simmenthal, coached by Cesare Rubini, had virtually kept the same squad yet were seen as more potent, with combative American Art Kenney settled in and youngsters Giulio Iellini and Mauro Cerioni more mature. Regular season Simmenthal's title hopes took a dent when they lost 69-67 away to Forst Cantù during the fourth round, leaving Ignis as the only undefeated team at that stage.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,14/articleid,1521_02_1971_0265A_0014_23290213/ Basket: il Simmenthal cade a Cantù 15 November 1971 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian Basketball: Simmenthal slips in Cantù When the two met in Varese on 9 January 1972, Simmenthal was already in a do-or-die situation, trailing the leaders by four points (having lost again in between, to mid-table Norda Bologna led by league top scorer John Fultz). Ignis' 62-57 win in a nervous game characterized by poor shooting from both sides (Bisson and Renzo Bariviera top-scoring for their respective teams with 16 points each) led some observers to already declare them champions, with their now 6-point lead seen as insurmountable.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,14/articleid,1510_02_1972_0007A_0014_23139458/ Lo scudetto è ancora dell'Ignis Tavarozzi Antonio 10 January 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian The championship is Ignis' again However, the same month, Pierluigi Marzorati and Carlo Recalcati helped Cantù end Ignis' four-year invulnerability at home with an 84-83 overtime win that made that claim less certain.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,14/articleid,1510_02_1972_0025A_0014_23140259/ L'Ignis perde con la Forst. Botte a Bologna e a Torino 31 January 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian Ignis loses against Forst. Fights in Bologna and Turin Soon after, the leaders lost by a single point again, this time to Venezia after two overtimes, to see their lead on Simmenthal reduced to only two points.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,14/articleid,0141_02_1972_0043_0014_4904001/ Perdono le grandi del basket. Ignis a Venezia, Saclà a Forlì 21 February 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian The big basketball teams lose. Ignis at Venice, Saclà at Forlì That gap remained the same until the penultimate round game between the two freshly crowned European champions (Ignis winning the Champions Cup and Simmenthal the Cup Winners' Cup) played on 26 March 1972 in Milan.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,19/articleid,0142_01_1972_0072_0019_5074461/ Le due grandi del basket, dalle Coppe allo scudetto Tavarozzi Antonio 26 March 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian The two big teams of basketball, from Cups to the championship Contrarily to the previous encounter, the game was reportedly an entertaining affair, Cerioni neutralised a diminished Raga defensively whilst adding 18 points to a vindictive Kenney's 21. Meneghin's 28 points were not enough for a Varese missing the injured Bisson, as they were undone 77-72 to concede their hold on first place.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,14/articleid,0142_02_1972_0073_0014_4904550/ Il Simmenthal alla carica (ed è subito spareggio) Tavarozzi Antonio 27 March 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian Simmenthal in charge (and it's already a playoff) Both teams comfortably won their last round games, which meant they finished as joint leaders, making a one-off playoff game at a neutral venue necessary to decide the title. Standings Italy black Serie A 1971–72 – Club Locations right 300 Italy 45.46 9.19 bottom Milano Italy 45.81 8.83 left Varese Italy 45.73 9.13 right Cantù Italy 40.83 14.25 left Napoli Italy 43.91 12.9 right Pesaro Italy 46.06 13.23 top Udine Italy 44.50 11.35 bottom Bologna Italy 45.43 12.33 right Venezia Italy 45.42 11.86 bottom Padova Italy 41.9 12.5 left Roma Pos Position Teams P Played W Won L Lost PF Points for PA Points against Champion or relegation1 #C3BB70 c Ignis Varese 22 21 1 1805 1380Title playoff (see below) 2 #C3BB70 c Simmenthal Milano 22 21 1 1845 1565 3Forst Cantù 22 18 4 1852 1675 4Splügen Venezia 22 13 9 1627 15795 #C3BB70 c Norda Bologna 22 11 11 1701 1696 6 #C3BB70 c Snaidero Udine 22 11 11 1666 17527 Mobilquattro Milano 22 10 12 1686 1740 8 Maxmobili Pesaro 22 9 13 1541 16109Eldorado Bologna 22 8 14 1549 1679 10 Gorena Padova 22 6 16 1521 165611Partenope Napoli 22 5 17 1542 166812 Stella Azzurra Roma 22 3 19 1471 1712Relegation to Serie B Source: Lega Basket #C3BB70 c Ranking by head-to-head record then points differential in case of tie (see record). Individual scoring table RankNameTeamPointsPPG Points Per Game1.USA John Fultz Norda Bologna 655 29.82.MEX Manuel Raga Ignis Varese 511 23.23.USA Gary Schull Eldorado Bologna 498 22.64.ITA Enrico Bovone Snaidero Udine 492 23.45.ITA Carlo Recalcati Forst Cantù 479 21.86.USA Larry Saunders Gorena Padova 424 19.37.BRA Ubiratan Splügen Venezia 414 18.88.USA Jim Williams Partenope Napoli 404 18.39.USA Bob Lienhard Forst Cantù 400 18.210.USA Art Kenney Simmenthal Milano 371 16.9 Source: unofficial statistics compiled by the Giganti del Basket magazine (official statistics started from the 1975–76 season).http://195.56.77.208/other/PDF/Stagione%2071-72%20classifiche.pdf Serie A 1971-72 - classifica marcatori e spareggi LegaBasket.it 7 July 2016 Italian 1971–72 Serie A – scorers table and playoffs Postseason Title playoff The title-deciding playoff game was played in Rome's Palazzo dello Sport on 4 April 1972 in front of more than 15,000 people. Raga, having returned to fitness, scored a game-high 25 points, with Meneghin adding 22 points for the defending champions as Varese led by 9 points in the first half. Despite this, a team-effort by Simmenthal's mayor players such as Kenney, Giuseppe Brumatti and captain Massimo Masini allowed them to get back in the game, with the teams tied on 60 with only 29 seconds left to play. Barivera scored twice in succession to allow Milano to win the closely contested game and the league title for the first time in five years.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,15/articleid,0142_01_1972_0080_0015_4981303/ Grande il "Simm" campione ma ci vorrebbero due scudetti Tavarozzi Antonio 5 April 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian "Simm" a great champion but two championships would be needed #eee 4 April 21:00 Palazzo dello Sport, Rome Simmenthal Milano 64 Ignis Varese 60 Boxscore Giuseppe Brumatti 14 Manuel Raga 25 Arthur Kenney 16 Dino Meneghin 13 15,000 Italian Cup Simmenthal completed the domestic double over Ignis, beating their rivals 81-77 in Turin to lift the cup. As both teams were already qualified for the 1972–73 European Champions Cup (Milano through the league and Varese by winning the 1972 edition), the spot in the European Cup Winners' Cup was given to Mobilquattro Milano after they beat Forst Cantù 84-83 in the third-place game.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,17/articleid,0143_01_1972_0129_0017_5193367/ Simmenthal batte Ignis anche in Coppa Tavarozzi Antonio 2 June 1972 ArchivoLaStampa.it 6 July 2016 Italian Simmenthal also beats Ignis in the Cup Championship-winning squad Simmenthal Milano 1971–72 Serie A champions ITA 5 Giulio Iellini ITA 6 Giuseppe Brumatti ITA 7 Doriano Iacuzzo ITA 8 Massimo Masini ITA 9 Renzo Bariviera ITA 10 Mauro Cerioni ITA 12 Sergio Borlenghi ITA 13 Paolo Bianchi ITA 14 Giorgio Giomo USA 18 Art Kenney Coach: ITA Cesare Rubini Source: Lega Basket References 30em External links Game-by-game stats at Pearlbasket Retrieved 6 July 2016 Italy Category:Lega Basket Serie A seasons