Legadue Basket

Legadue or Lega2 is the second-highest division of professional club basketball in Italy since 2001-2002 season (previously called Serie A2). Legadue has a different board from the one which operates the country's top-level Lega A, although both regulated by FIP (Italian Basketball Federation).

Legadue regular season is composed of 16 teams playing two legs of 15 matches: in each leg the teams face all the others one time, home or away, in the second leg matches are played with reversed field. Until season 2009-2010, two teams advanced to Lega A — the first placed team in regular season, automatically promoted, and the winner of a playoff tournament involving the next eight teams in the regular-season standings. Since season 2010-11 the second promotion is affected by the chance, given to the second last team in Lega A standings, to pay a 500.000€ fee (so called "result prize") to the second team with right to promotion, in exchange of maintaining own right to participate in the top series. In reason of this rule, Legadue promotion system now foresees the first 8 teams in regular season standings to face in a playoff tournament which may end in one or two finals: either 3 rounds on 5 matches (H-H-A-A-H schedule) or a round on 5 matches and 2 finals on 7 matches (H-H-A-A-H-A-H schedule). The last 2 teams in regular season are relegated to Serie A Dilettanti, the first division of the Italian amateur basketball system (although many, if not all, of the teams at that level are effectively semi-professional).

The first 4 teams in Legadue standings at the end of first leg compete on a final four system for assignment of Coppa Italia di Legadue, the second national cup of Italian basketball, in a weekend at the end of February.

Legadue teams are required to follow a rule of prevalence of Italian players in roster composition, which imposes to line up at least six Italian-trained players (which played a minimum number of years in Italian youth series), up to one Italian naturalized player, up to one EU player, and up to two non-EU players.

2011-12 teams

Results of 2010-11 season

Promoted to Lega A

• A.S. Junior Pallacanestro Casale (champions and playoff winners)

Relegated from Lega A

• Enel Brindisi

No other team relegated from Lega A after Teramo Basket announced payment of the 500.000€ fee for maintaining right to participate in the first series (although Reyer Venezia Mestre, Legadue playoff final loosers, announced appeal for expired terms of payment)

Relegated to Serie A Dilettanti

• Scaligera Basket Verona
• Cestistica San Severo

Promoted from Serie A Dilettanti

• Basket Brescia Leonessa (Italian semi-pro league champions)
• Basket Trapani

On 30 June, 4 teams announced they will not enroll for 2011-12 season:

• Basket Rimini Crabs, due to bankruptcy
• Pallalcesto Amatori Udine, due to bankruptcy
• Unione Cestistica Casalpusterlengo decided to enroll for the new development league, which is going to replace Serie A Dilettanti as first series of Italian semi-pro basketball starting from next season, in order to have possibility to come back to its traditional homefield of Codogno, too small for LegaDue standard, and to follow its tradition of young players development
• Basket Club Ferrara, which transferred its right to participate in the series to Biancoblù Basket Bologna, newfounded club with the aim of giving new life to historical Fortitudo Bologna.

The 3 free places have been assigned to previously relegated Scaligera Basket Verona and to best non promoted teams from Serie A Dilettanti Ostuni Basket and Unione Cestistica Piacentina Piacenza.

Furthermore on 6 July, league assembly confirmed non admittance of Basket Trapani, which failed to provide whole documentation for enrollment in the series according to the mandatory terms. An appeal against this decision has also been rejected; Pallacanestro Sant'Antimo is the team which was entitled of the right to participate in 2011-12 season instead of Trapani.

The participation of these 4 teams has been confirmed on 5 August.

Albo d'oro

Appearances (till 2010-11)

• Nuova Pallacanestro Pavia quit the series after selling entitlement to participate to Scaligera Basket Verona in 2010-11.
• Aurora Basket Jesi was relegated in 2009-10, but readmitted in the series after strike off of Nuova Sebastiani Napoli from Lega A dued to financial and ethical rules violation.
• Andrea Costa Imola also underwent 3 relegations, and in all 3 cases was readmitted in the series: in 2004-05 after bankruptcy of Pallacanestro Messina, in 2007-08 after bankruptcy of Viola Reggio Calabria and in 2009-10 after bankruptcy of Basket Livorno.
• Novara underwent 3 relegations, but was readmitted in the series for 2 times: in 2003-04 after bankruptcy of Virtus Bologna from Lega A and in 2007-08 after moving entitlement to participate in the series from Castelletto Ticino.
• A.S. Junior Pallacanestro Casale was relegated in 2005-06, but readmitted in the series after bankruptcy of Roseto Basket from Lega A.
• Fabriano Basket was relegated in 2004-05, but readmitted in the series after bankruptcy of Victoria Libertas Pesaro, later in 2008-09 it quit the series after moving entitlement to participate to Roseto
• Progresso Castelmaggiore quit the series after selling entitlement to participate to Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna in 2004-05.
• Basket Draghi Castelletto Ticino quit the series after moving entitlement to participate to Novara in 2007-08.
• Basket Livorno quit the series due to bankruptcy in 2009-10, thus never being relegated.
• Centro sportivo Borgomanero quit the series after moving entitlement to participate to Novara in 2002-03, thus never being relegated.
• Viola Reggio Calabria quit the series due to bankruptcy in 2007-08, thus never being relegated.
• Nuova Pallacanestro Vigevano quit the series due to bankruptcy in 20010-11, thus never being relegated.

See also

• Italian Basketball Federation
• Italian Basketball League
• Italian Cup
• Italian Supercup

External links

• Official Site