Villalta is considered one of the greatest European power forwards of all time and was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Villalta remained in Mestre until 1976, when he was signed by Virtus Bologna for 400 million lire, a huge amount for the time.

In his first years with Virtus, Villalta deeply changed his style of play thanks to coach Dan Peterson, who helped him build a terrific mid-range shot.

[3] In the following season, Jim McMillian, a 1972 NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers,[5] and Villalta 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, which lost by only one point against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Villalta won the silver medal with the senior Italian national basketball team, at the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games.