Virtus Bologna: Challenge for Euroleague 2025/26 and the future of Toko Shengelia

Virtus Bologna prepares for the 2025/26 Euroleague while Toko Shengelia's future could hold surprises.

di ALESSANDRO GALLO
8 May 2025
Georgian Toko Shengelia, 33 years old (Ciamillo)

Georgian Toko Shengelia, 33 years old (Ciamillo)

One hot and one cold. Or if you prefer one good and the other less so. Although both news must be handled with care. Sunday the Virtus will play for the top spot against a Trapani team that has deservedly carved out an important space for itself. But Virtus must look both to the present and the future. And the future particularly concerns theEuroleague.

And in terms of Euroleague 2025/26 – by the way, the last two teams to qualify, after Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, were Monaco and Panathinaikos – there is one less rival to register. Without the expansion of the participants to twenty, it was said and debated that Virtus would have had to fight with theAlba Berlin. The Germans have a remarkable arena and a more consistent (recent) experience. On the other hand, the last places of the last seasons made not only the Germans, but also the Euroleague, turn up their noses.

Alba has opted out of this race: the German club, with a press release, announced that it has chosen Fiba and the Champions League. With Germans out, therefore, the judgment of esteem towards Virtus – defined as an iconic club of the Old Continent – ​​of the CEO of Euroleague, Paulius Motiejunas, could be useful at this point.

Virtus, for its part, in addition to its history and past (which has also been erased) as a founding club, boasts the Fair project. A project that has already started and that will have to give birth, in the area of ​​Pavilion 35, to the sports hall that will be usable from November 2026, as attested by the agreements made with the Davis Cup and Eima.

It stands to reason that participating again in the Euroleague will give Virtus greater appeal.

But Virtus, which according to the Spanish media, would have already lost, from next season, Toko Shengelia. The Barcelona, who initially offered a three-year deal to the Georgian, would have opted for the 2+1 formula. Toko would appreciate it, but he is happy to be in Bologna. Taking it for granted, even if it is clear that Shengelia is one of the strongest players in his role in the Old Continent, could be risky for one reason only.

The rumor relaunched by Spain could also be the way to reassure a fan base that has not digested Catalonia's Black Tuesday. Barca eliminated from the race for the final four by Monaco, led by former Virtus player Mam Jaiteh, and Flick's creation eliminated by Inter in view of the Champions League final (in this case case). Certainly, since July 1st, Toko appears further away from Bologna, but the end of the season, perhaps, could reserve surprises.

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