The Ronchetti Cup (called till 1996 ''European Cup Liliana Ronchetti'') was an annual women’s

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an club competition held by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

between the years 1972 and 2002. It was the second competition in European basketball, after the European Cup For Women’s Champions Clubs (later renamed EuroLeague Women). It was replaced in 2002 by the

EuroCup Women The EuroCup Women (officially ''FIBA EuroCup Women'') is the second-level basketball competition with teams from associate members of FIBA Europe. It succeeds the Ronchetti Cup. System of competition As for the EuroLeague Women, the EuroCup had ...

which is the absolute equivalent.

History

Liliana Ronchetti and European basketball

Liliana Ronchetti Liliana Ronchetti (15 September 1927 – 4 February 1974) was an Italian basketball player. Background On club level, Ronchetti played for Società Ginnastica Comense (1947–55, won the Italian League in 1950, 1951 (undefeated season), 1952 ...

started playing basketball in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

at the age of 20. Ronchetti, or Lily as she was called by her team mates, won 4 consecutive national titles with Como in the 1950s and played 83 games for the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

national team. One year after she quit basketball Lily died of cancer. Her name has persisted through the ''European Cup Liliana Ronchetti'' (renamed in 1996 more simply ''Ronchetti Cup''). This competition was created by

in 1974 as the second European competition for women’s clubs.

Ronchetti Cup winners

External links

History of Ronchetti Cup

{{Basketball in Europe Defunct women's basketball cup competitions in Europe International club basketball competitions