Montecatini

Montecatini Terme had a basketball club long before the current one. Raoul Bellandi, Giuliano Rondelli and Corrado Messeri started the Sporting Club in 1949, and it took the spa town's name into Serie A1 and Serie A2 before it went bankrupt in 2014. Nine years later the Gema group, led by president Alessandro Lulli, bought the sporting title from Montecatiniterme Basketball and set up Pallacanestro Montecatini. The red and blue and the Rossoblù nickname came with it.

The historic club's best years had a shape. It won Serie B d'Eccellenza in 1987, went up to Serie A2 in 1989, and reached Serie A1 in 1992 and again in 1999. Two names from that period still carry weight. Andrea Niccolai was the youngest player to be called up to the national team at the time, and the club still treats him as its all-time symbol. Mario Boni was the league's top scorer in 1994.

The new club has kept to that line of promotions and cups. It plays in Serie B Nazionale, where it won the Coppa Italia in 2024-25. The PalaTerme, cut to 2,722 seats after the old club folded, was restored to its full 5,196 with work finished in 2026.

The fixture that matters most locally is against Herons Basket Montecatini, the other club in the same small town. The Derby di Montecatini, also called the Stracittadina, is a city derby in the plainest sense: both sides draw on the same streets and the same pool of supporters.