 Barely making it out of the group stage in the last qualifying spot with a 6-6 record meant that in their quarterfinal best-of-three series Virtus would face the top-placed team from the other group — formidable Real Madrid squad led by Arvydas Sabonis.Virtus got blown out by Real, losing the first game on home court at PalaDozza by 20 points with Danilović scoring 4 points while five days later in Madrid, Real finished the job with another convincing victory, this time by 21 points.In summer 1993, coach Messina left the club to take the head coaching position at the Italian national team with returning coach Alberto Bucci coming in as his replacement at Bologna.