Trapani Shark


Trapani Shark is an Italian basketball team that is based in Trapani, Sicily.
Founded in 2023, it is the successor to Pallacanestro Trapani. The team plays its home games at Palallio.
In 2023, the team triumphed over their rivals, Blu Basket, to win the Supercoppa LNP.

History

Origins

In the 1930s, Trapani's youth sports organizations, such as the F.G.C. and the G.I.L., laid the groundwork for the development of basketball in the city by organizing the first teams to compete in regional championships during the fascist regime. The earliest recorded basketball game in Trapani took place in 1934, when the local F.G.C. team faced a team from Castellammare del Golfo. In June of the same year, a regional championship was held, where the Trapani team competed against peers from Catania and Agrigento.
In 1935, the F.G.C. Trapani participated in the "Palermo Tournament," possibly an early form of the Second Division, alongside teams from Sicilian cities such as Catania, Enna, Caltanissetta, Agrigento, Syracuse, Messina, and Palermo.
In 1937, the Fascist Youth Combat Groups merged into the Italian Youth of the Lictor, which, in 1938, organized the 15th Sicily Group of the GIL First Division. The Trapani team competed alongside teams from Catania, Agrigento, Enna, and Caltanissetta.
In the early 1940s, young athletes from the GIL joined the Trapani G.U.F., which participated in Group IV of the 1941–1942 Serie B alongside G.U.F. Palermo and G.U.F. Messina. During this period, notable athletes, often versatile in multiple sports, included Umberto Saura, who excelled in track and field as a pole vaulter and played football for Juventus Trapani, alongside Alberto Corso, Gaetano Sabato, Antonino Ferlito, Rocco Cernigliaro, and Paolo Calafiore.
Former GIL and GUF athletes who transitioned into coaching and administration, including Bartolomeo Sorrentino, Alberto Cardella, Pino Cardella, and Osvaldo La Cavera, further developed these sporting and organizational foundations.
The post-war period saw the rise of teams driven by associational initiatives or public and independent entities promoting sports activities and championships. Libertas Trapani, active in the 1940s, participated in regional championships for admission to the 1945–46 Serie A. This team was a local branch of the post-war Libertas National Sports Center, which was established to promote sports culture.
Corda Fratres Trapani, a local branch of the Corda Fratres, was revived after the war and participated in various local and regional tournaments. It later merged, under the leadership of Girolamo "Mommo" Marchello, into the Trapani Basketball Association, active until 1953, when it joined Enal Trapani.
Following a similar model to Libertas, the Enal Trapani Sports Group, later known as Virtus Enal Trapani, emerged as a local branch of the National Workers' Assistance Agency. Under the presidency of Professor Renzo Venza and Pio Cavasino, and with the sporting direction of Leonardo Scalabrino, the team was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Virtus Enal competed in Serie C championships and one Serie B championship in 1964–65, earning promotion by defeating Concordia Agrigento 60–37 in the promotion tournament finals held in Agrigento. The team featured promising local players such as Salvatore Castelli, Dino Magaddino, and Aldo Guarnotta, among others, who later contributed to the continuity and quality of basketball in Trapani, playing for the Rosmini Basketball Association and its successor, Cestistica Trapani.

1960s: Rosmini

In the late 1950s, the parish of Rosminian Fathers Don Mario Tomasi and Don Oreste Radaelli became a focal point for Trapani and Erice youth through sports activities such as football and basketball. The latter sport united a group of young players who, coached by Ettore Daidone, remained undefeated for about two years across southern Italy, winning three consecutive championships and reaching Serie A.
In the 1958–59 season, ASP Rosmini Trapani finished second behind Virtus Enal, which won the Promotion championship, ahead of CUS Palermo. This championship served as a prelude to subsequent seasons that unexpectedly propelled the yellow-green team to the top of Italian basketball.
In the 1962–63 season, ASP Rosmini Trapani competed in Serie B, reaching the final group for promotion. By defeating Salerno 65–52, the team secured promotion to Serie A-Seconda Serie with a roster of local players, including Roald and Giuseppe Vento, Nino Fodale, Ignazio Voi, Roberto Naso, Giovanni Crimi, Franco Gallo, Aldo Guarnotta, Giuseppe Ruffino, and Carlo Lungaro.
Despite financial challenges, in their debut in 1963–64 Serie A-Seconda Serie, the Trapani team finished ninth, tied with Pall. Catanzaro, with Foggia finishing last. However, a protest by Catanzaro regarding a game played in Bari eliminated the possibility of a relegation play-off, resulting in Rosmini's relegation. This led to the dissolution of the association, which lacked a solid organizational base to continue in the championship, and some players moved to other teams, such as U.S. Palermo or Cestistica Trapani.
In December 1964, Cestistica Trapani was founded, with Francesco Calamia, a Trapani politician and multiple-time Mayor of Trapani, as president. The team inherited Rosmini's sporting title and players, some of whom were also founders of the team. The team competed in Serie B and C championships, achieving strong results in youth categories and consistently participating in national finals, especially in the early 1970s.

1970s: Edera

In November 1965, Cestistica was renamed Cestistica Edera Trapani under the initiative of Antonio Montanti, with Giovanni Denaro as president and Giuseppe Vento as vice-president. The team competed in Serie C and participated in the Italian Cup on two occasions. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Italian Cup involved interregional qualifiers, with teams from the top tier down to Serie D competing in groups.
In the 1970–71 tournament, Edera advanced past the preliminary rounds of the Southern Group but lost by one point to Libertas Brindisi in the quarterfinals.
In the 1972 Italian Cup, the Trapani team was eliminated in the first round by Splugen Reyer Venezia, a top Serie A team at the time. Edera continued its activities, primarily in Serie C, with one relegation to Serie D in 1974, featuring players such as Salvatore "Libero" Ernandez, Paolo Mollura, and Andrea Magaddino, who later became key figures for Pallacanestro Trapani and Basket Trapani.
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Vento remained a driving force in Trapani basketball, both as a player and administrator, striving to revive and energize a club that had long languished at lower national competitive levels. He also introduced Vincenzo Garraffa to basketball.
Garraffa, a politician, laid the groundwork for a new club, Pallacanestro Trapani, particularly after a painful relegation to Serie C2 in 1981.

Pallacanestro Trapani (1980–1997)

Early years

In 1980, Edera Trapani was renamed Pallacanestro Trapani, and its colors changed from green to maroon. In 1981, Vincenzo Garraffa became president, supported by Salvatore Mazzara, Giovanni Crimi, Roald Vento, and Elio Ippaso. After relegation to Serie C2, the club underwent a technical and organizational restructuring.
In the 1981–1983 period, by signing players such as Tuscan Francesco Mannella, Luigi "Gigi" Ranieri, and Amedeo Mazza, and hiring a non-local coach, Abruzzese Emilio "Mimmo" Trivelli, the new club achieved two consecutive promotions: first to Serie C1, secured a game early by defeating Orlandina, and then to Serie B, a hard-fought promotion won in the play-off final against Virtus Ragusa 2–1.
The maroon team spent six seasons in Serie B and later in Serie B1. In the 1983–84 season, their first in Serie B, they achieved a respectable seventh place, supported by Angelo Destasio and Giuseppe Padua.
The following year, in 1984–85, coach Mimmo Trivelli left, and Bruno Boero took over with Massimo Cosmelli. The team finished second, tied with Sutor Montegranaro, but missed the play-offs due to unfavorable head-to-head results.
In the 1985–86 season, the maroon team again finished second, tied with Facar Pescara, but missed the promotion play-offs due to unfavorable head-to-head results, though they were admitted to Serie B1.

Serie B d'Eccellenza

In the 1986–87 Serie B d'Eccellenza, a single national group, Pallacanestro Trapani, coached by Stefano Michelini, avoided the relegation play-offs on the final day by defeating Stamura Ancona to finish ninth.
The following season, 1987–88, was tumultuous, culminating in a relegation play-off. Finishing 13th, the team faced Esperia Cagliari on 8 May at the PalaMaggiò in Caserta, winning 88–72 to retain their spot in the second tier.
The arrival of coach Gianfranco Benvenuti and general manager Valentino Renzi in 1988 brought a technical and managerial leap forward. The 1988–89 season was one of consolidation, with a strong fifth-place finish, integrating new players such as Davide Lot and Antonio Guzzone.

Serie A

In the 1989–90 B1 season, the arrival of sharpshooter Giuseppe Cassì and the Vini Racine team, after finishing second in the regular season behind Mens Sana Siena, achieved a long-planned goal under president Vincenzo Garraffa. They defeated Sangiorgese in the play-offs, winning 86–77 in Trapani. In Porto San Giorgio, the game was halted after Mario Piazza was hit by a lighter thrown from the crowd, with the game ending 84–81 for the home team. However, a sports tribunal awarded Trapani a 2–0 victory, securing promotion to Serie A2.
In their first 1990–91 A2 season, Birra Messina Pallacanestro Trapani aimed for survival, finishing eighth in the regular season, which unexpectedly earned them a spot in the play-offs for promotion to Serie A1. They competed in the Yellow Group, finishing tied with Filanto Forlì and Kleenex Pistoia. Based on head-to-head results, Trapani was promoted to the top tier for the first time in its history.
This "double jump" from B1 to A1 was driven by the tenacity of coach Gianfranco "Cacco" Benvenuti and a solid core of players, including Francesco "Ciccio" Mannella, Claudio "Bibo" Castellazzi, Mario Piazza, Giuseppe Cassì, and Davide Lot, bolstered in A2 by two highly skilled American players: power forward Reggie Johnson, an NBA champion in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers, and center Bobby Lee Hurt.
For all of Sicilian sport, Pallacanestro Trapani's presence in A1 was a historic achievement. In the 1991–92 Serie A1, Giancarlo Sacco replaced Gianfranco Benvenuti, who stepped down for health reasons. With the previous season's roster retained and new additions Stefano Tosi, Wendell Alexis, and John Shasky, the Trapani team unexpectedly finished 14th, defeating Scavolini Pesaro on the final day, avoiding the second-to-last spot and direct relegation to A2. However, relegation was only delayed, as a disappointing play-out phase ended their top-tier tenure.
Trapani remained in Serie A2 for four more seasons, sponsored by Tonno Auriga. In 1992–93, coached by Riccardo Sales, they finished 10th. In 1993–94, with Giancarlo Sacco returning to replace Ninni Gebbia, they secured 11th place. Meanwhile, President Garraffa stepped down and the remaining shareholders took over management of the club. In 1994–95, with three coaching changes, they finished 14th.