Gianluigi "Gigi" Porelli (10 June 1930 – 4 September 2009) was an Italian basketball executive, who served as president of Virtus Bologna from 1968 until 1991.

In 1968, the lawyer Gianluigi Porelli was appointed by the then president of the multi-sport club, Giovanni Elkan, at the head of the basketball section of SEF Virtus Bologna.

[3] Alternately nicknamed "Torquemada" or "Robespierre" for his quick and often dictatorial methods, or, more frequently, L'Avvocato ("The Lawyer"), Porelli has been one of the most prominent figures in the history of Virtus which, through initiatives often unpopular but almost always winning, definitively carried towards professionalism.

[5] In 1970, thanks to Porelli, Virtus was also one of the main proponents and founders of the Lega Basket, the governing body of the top-tier level professional Italian basketball league.

[7] In 1973, Porelli opened a new season of triumphs, thanks to a partnership with Sinudyne, a famous Italian domestic appliances company, and especially with the engagement of the young American coach Dan Peterson, coming from the Chile's national basketball team.

[9] In the following season, Virtus signed Tom McMillen, a 22-years-old player from the University of Maryland, who was selected with the 9th overall pick by the Buffalo Braves during the 1974 NBA draft.

[12] Thanks to Driscoll's leadership and the fundamental support of Italian players like Carlo Caglieris, Gianni Bertolotti, Marco Bonamico and Luigi Serafini, Virtus won its seventh national championship, the first one after twenty years.

[17] However, despite the controversies which rose around his farewell, Peterson's legacy was huge: the American coach deeply changed the team's organization and contributed in bringing back Virtus to the top of Italian basketball after twenty years of struggles.

Porelli signed also Krešimir Ćosić, one of the best centers in Europe; the team was also composed by great Italian players as Renato Villalta, Carlo Caglieris and the captain Gianni Bertolotti.

[20] McMillian, who was immediately nicknamed by Virtus fans as Il Duca Nero ("The Black Duke"),[21] led the team achieving a back-to-back, winning its ninth titles against Cantù.

Returning to the top in Italy, the Black V attempted to become a major team in Europe too, and in 1981, Virtus reached the final of the FIBA European Champions Cup in Strasbourg.

[26] Despite his fame, Nikolić did not succeed in bringing Virtus back to title, so in 1983, after the brief experiences of George Bisacca and Mauro Di Vincenzo, the 35 years-old Alberto Bucci, from Bologna, became the new head coach.

Despite the head coach's change, the team continued collecting poor successes, being ousted in the Korać Cup's quarterfinals and in the first round of national playoffs.

[36] Despite the playoffs' elimination, the season was considered a rebirth for Virtus: the national cup was the team's first trophy since 1984 and the great performances of Richardson had brought back the passion for basketball in the city.

[43] In 1991, after two years of internal struggles within the shareholders' assembly, during which he also briefly lost the control of the club,[44] Porelli sold Virtus to Alfredo Cazzola, a local trade fair entrepreneur.