Alessandro Pajola (born 9 November 1999) is an Italian professional basketball player and the team captain for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He is also a member of the senior Italian national team. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. Pajola is widely known for his defensive ability.
Pajola joined Virtus Bologna in 2015, becoming an important supporting cast player in 2016âÂÂ17, when the club was in Serie A2. On 19 June 2017, the Black V won the playoffs, beating Trieste by 3âÂÂ0, thus returning to the top series after only one year.
Pajola's importance in the team grown up season after season, becoming one of Virtus' most prominent player in 2020âÂÂ21 season. In June 2021, after having knocked out 3âÂÂ0 both Basket Treviso in the quarterfinals and New Basket Brindisi in the semifinals, on Virtus defeated 4âÂÂ0 its historic rival Olimpia Milano in the national finals, winning its 16th national title and the first one after twenty years.
On 21 September 2021, the team won its second Supercup, defeating once again Olimpia Milano 90âÂÂ84. After an outstanding game in the final, Pajola was named MVP of the tournament. Moreover, after having ousted Lietkabelis, Ulm and Valencia in the first three rounds of the playoffs, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80âÂÂ67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the EuroLeague after 14 years. However, despite having ended the regular season at the first place and having ousted 3âÂÂ0 both Pesaro and Tortona in the first two rounds of playoffs, Virtus was defeated 4âÂÂ2 in the national finals by Olimpia Milan.
On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72âÂÂ69 Banco di Sardegna Sassari and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy. However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, the team was defeated in the Italian Basketball Cup final by Brescia. In June, after having ousted 3âÂÂ0 both Brindisi and Tortona, Virtus was defeated 4âÂÂ3 by Olimpia Milan in the national finals, following a series which was widely regarded among the best in the latest years of Italian basketball. At the end of the regular season, on 10 May 2023, Pajola renewed his contract with Virtus through 2026.
On 24 September 2023, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its fourth Supercup, and the third in a row, defeating 97âÂÂ60 Germani Brescia. Despite an impressive first half of the season, Virtus ended the EuroLeague regular season at the 10th place, qualifying only for the play-in, where after having defeated 67âÂÂ64 Anadolu Efes, it lost against Baskonia 89âÂÂ77, not qualifying for the playoffs. Moreover, the Black V placed first during the Italian regular season but, after having knocked out Tortona by 3âÂÂ2 and Reyer Venezia by 3âÂÂ1, it lost the third consecutive final against Milan by 3âÂÂ1.
In the following season Virtus ended the EuroLeague at the 17th place, after a disappointing regular season. After arriving first in the national championship season, Virtus eliminated Venezia 3âÂÂ2 and their arch-rival Milan 3âÂÂ1, reaching their fifth finals in a row. They then defeated Brescia 3âÂÂ0, claiming the Italian championship title for the 17th time. For Pajola, this was the second scudetto of his career.
In the 2025âÂÂ26 season, Pajola became the team captain.
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022âÂÂ23 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Bologna | 29 || 0 || 16.7 || .418 || .324 || .733 || 1.8 || 2.5 || 1.2 || || 3.1 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023âÂÂ24 | 34 || 8 || 17.0 || .387 || .352 || .727 || 1.8 || 3.0 || .8 || .1 || 3.9 || 4.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 63 || 8 || 16.9 || .400 || .343 || .729 || 1.8 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .1 || 3.5 || 4.9
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015âÂÂ16 | style="text-align:left;"| Virtus Bologna | 2 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016âÂÂ17 | style="text-align:left;"| Virtus Bologna | 24 || 0 || 9.9 || .413 || .364 || .500 || 1.2 || .6 || .5 || .0 || 2.3 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017âÂÂ18 | style="text-align:left;"| Virtus Bologna | 17 || 2 || 11.9 || .450 || .250 || .600 || 1.1 || .8 || .6 || .0 || 1.6 || 1.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018âÂÂ19 | style="text-align:left;"| Virtus Bologna | 27 || 0 || 11.7 || .282 || .286 || .571 || 1.1 || 1.0 || .7 || .1 || 1.3 || .7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019âÂÂ20 | style="text-align:left;"| Virtus Bologna | 20 || 1 || 12.2 || .465 || .313 || .722 || 1.6 || 1.5 || .8 || .1 || 3.1 || 4.6