Leo Menalo Explained

Leo Menalo (born January 6, 2002) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Serie A2. Due to his Italian upbringing, he is considered a "homegrown player" in the domestic championship.

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]

Career statistics

EuroLeague

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Bologna| 1 || 0 || 1.0 || || || || || || || || 0.0 || 0.0|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career| 1 || 0 || 1.0 || || || || || || || || 0.0 || 0.0

Notes and References

1. Web site: Leo Menalo – Lega Nazionale Pallacanestro. legapallacanestro.com. it. 2 September 2019 . August 2, 2022.
2. Web site: Leo Menalo è un nuovo giocatore di Virtus Segafredo Bologna!. virtus.it. it. August 2, 2022. August 2, 2022.
3. Web site: Supercoppa, trionfa la Virtus Bologna! Canestro decisivo di Mickey, Sassari cede 72-69. Gazzetta dello Sport. it. 29 September 2022.
4. Web site: Virtus, il punto a fine EuroLega. bolognabasket.org. it. 14 April 2023.
5. Web site: Basket, Milano batte Bologna nella decisiva gara 7 e vince il suo 30esimo scudetto. Gli highlights. la Repubblica. it. 24 June 2023.
6. Web site: Basket, Milano batte Bologna 67-55 nella finalissima e si conferma campione per la trentesima volta. Rai News 24. it. 21 June 2023.
7. https://bologna.repubblica.it/sport/2023/09/24/news/una_virtus_esagerata_stravince_la_supercoppa-415671857/ Una Virtus esagerata stravince la Supercoppa