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.

Leo Menalo
Menalo in 2022
No. 24 – Pallacanestro Trieste
PositionPower forward
LeagueSerie A2
Personal information
Born (2002-01-06) January 6, 2002 (age 22)
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
2024–presentPallacanestro Trieste
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

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Stella Azzurra Roma (2018–2022)

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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)

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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

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2022–23 Bologna 1 0 1.0 0.0 0.0
Career 1 0 1.0 0.0 0.0

References

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  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