Leo Menalo

Leo Menalo (born January 6, 2002) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. Due to his Italian upbringing, he is considered a "homegrown player" in the domestic championship.

Leo Menalo
Menalo in 2022
No. 24 – Virtus Bologna
PositionPower forward
LeagueLBA
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (2002-01-06) January 6, 2002
Zagreb, Croatia
NationalityCroatian
Listed height2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight95 kg (209 lb)
Career information
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2022Stella Azzurra Roma
2022–presentVirtus Bologna
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Stella Azzurra Roma (2018–2022)

After having played in the youth teams of KK Cibona, Menalo moved to A.S. Stella Azzurra of Rome in 2018, where he initially played in the youth teams. With Stella Azzurra, Menalo played in Serie A2, the second-tier league of Italian basketball.[1]

Virtus Bologna (2022–present)

On 2 August 2022, Menalo signed a four-year deal with Virtus Bologna, of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague, one of the most important teams in Europe.[2] On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69 Banco di Sardegna Sassari and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy.[3] However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs.[4] Moreover, the team was defeated in the Italian Basketball Cup final by Brescia. In June, after having ousted 3–0 both Brindisi and Tortona, Virtus was defeated 4–3 by Olimpia Milan in the national finals, following a series which was widely regarded among the best in the latest years of Italian basketball.[5][6]

On 24 September 2023, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its fourth Supercup, and the third in a row, defeating 97–60 Germani Brescia.[7]

References
  1. "Leo Menalo – Lega Nazionale Pallacanestro". legapallacanestro.com (in Italian). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  2. "Leo Menalo è un nuovo giocatore di Virtus Segafredo Bologna!". virtus.it (in Italian). 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. "Supercoppa, trionfa la Virtus Bologna! Canestro decisivo di Mickey, Sassari cede 72-69". Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 29 September 2022.
  4. "Virtus, il punto a fine EuroLega". bolognabasket.org (in Italian). 14 April 2023.
  5. "Basket, Milano batte Bologna nella decisiva gara 7 e vince il suo 30esimo scudetto. Gli highlights". la Repubblica (in Italian). 24 June 2023.
  6. "Basket, Milano batte Bologna 67-55 nella finalissima e si conferma campione per la trentesima volta". Rai News 24 (in Italian). 21 June 2023.
  7. Una Virtus esagerata stravince la Supercoppa. la Repubblica
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