Sergei Belov

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Sergei Belov
Сергей Белов
Belov in 2012
Personal information
Born(1944-01-23)23 January 1944
Nashchyokovo, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died3 October 2013(2013-10-03) (aged 69)
Perm, Russia
NationalitySoviet / Russian
Listed height6 ft 2.75 in (1.90 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
NBA draft1966: undrafted
Playing career1964–1980
PositionShooting guard
Number10
Coaching career1981–2004
Career history
As player:
1964–1967Uralmash Sverdlovsk
1968–1980CSKA Moscow
As coach:
1981–1982CSKA Moscow
1989–1990CSKA Moscow
1990–1993Basket Cassino
1999–2004Ural Great Perm
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

Basketball Hall of Fame as player
FIBA Hall of Fame as player
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Soviet Union
Summer Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich Team
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Mexico City Team
Bronze medal – third place 1976 Montreal Team
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Moscow Team
FIBA World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1967 Uruguay Team
Gold medal – first place 1974 Puerto Rico Team
Silver medal – second place 1978 Philippines Team
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Yugoslavia Team
FIBA Eurobasket
Gold medal – first place 1967 Finland Team
Gold medal – first place 1969 Italy Team
Gold medal – first place 1971 West Germany Team
Gold medal – first place 1979 Italy Team
Silver medal – second place 1975 Yugoslavia Team
Silver medal – second place 1977 Belgium Team
Bronze medal – third place 1973 Spain Team
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1970 Turin Team
Head coach for  Russia
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1994 Canada
Silver medal – second place 1998 Greece
FIBA Eurobasket
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Finland

Sergei Alexandrovich Belov (Russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Бело́в; 23 January 1944 – 3 October 2013) was a Russian professional basketball player, most noted for playing for CSKA Moscow and the senior Soviet Union national basketball team.[1] He is considered to be one of the best European basketball players of all time, and was given the honour of lighting the Olympic Cauldron with the Olympic flame during the 1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, in Moscow.

In 1991, Belov was named by FIBA as the Best FIBA Player ever.[2] He became the first international player to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on 11 May 1992. Belov was named to the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007. He was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007[3] and was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball.

Early life[edit]

Belov was born in the village of Nashchyokovo, Shegarsky District, Tomsk Oblast, Soviet Union.[4] In 1968, he became an Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. He became an Honoured Coach of Russia in 1995, and served as President of the Russian Basketball Federation (1993–98).[4]

Career[edit]

Belov lighting the Olympic Cauldron during the 22nd Olympics opening ceremony in Moscow, 1980

At the age of twenty, Belov made his debut in the USSR League, with the team of Uralmash Sverdlovsk, where he played from 1964 to 1967. He then played with CSKA Moscow for twelve years. With CSKA, he won the USSR League championship eleven times (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980), the USSR Cup twice (1972, 1973), and the EuroLeague twice, in 1969 and 1971.

As a member of the senior Soviet Union national basketball team, for nearly fourteen years (1967–1980), Belov helped them win a Summer Olympic Games gold medal in 1972, and three bronze medals in 1968, 1976, and 1980. He also helped them to become the FIBA World Cup champions in 1967 and 1974, and the EuroBasket champions in 1967, 1969, 1971, and 1979. He also won the Summer Universiade, in 1970, as well.

In the gold medal game of the 1972 Summer Olympics, Belov scored 20 points against the United States national basketball team, as the Soviet Union controversially defeated the USA, by a score of 51–50, to win the gold.

Later life[edit]

Belov was the head coach of CSKA Moscow, with whom he won the USSR League championship in 1982 and 1990. He was also the head coach of Ural Great Perm. With Ural Great Perm, he won the Russian Championship title in both 2001 and 2002, the Russian Cup in 2004, and the North European League championship in 2001.

As the head coach of the senior men's Russian national basketball team, he won silver medals at both the 1994 FIBA World Championship and the 1998 FIBA World Championship, and the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 1997. He was also Russia's head coach at the EuroBasket 1995 and the EuroBasket 1999.

Belov died on 3 October 2013, in Perm, Russia.[5]

Legacy[edit]

Asteroid 296638 Sergeibelov, discovered by Timur Kryachko in 2009, was named in his memory.[6] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 16 March 2014 (M.P.C. 87546).[7]

Awards and accomplishments[edit]

References and notes[edit]

  1. ^ Yardley, William (3 October 2013). "Sergei Belov, Star Guard Who Led Soviet Upset of U.S., Dies at 69". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  2. ^ Sergei Belov FIBA Profile. Fibaeurope.com (1972-09-09). Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  3. ^ FIBA Hall of Fame page on Belov Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. halloffame.fiba.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  4. ^ a b Great Russian Encyclopedia (2005), Moscow: Bolshaya Rossiyskaya Entsiklopediya Publisher, vol. 3, p. 227.
  5. ^ "Умер олимпийский чемпион по баскетболу Сергей Белов". Lenta.ru. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  6. ^ "296638 Sergeibelov (2009 SD101)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  7. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 September 2019.

External links[edit]

Media related to Sergei Belov at Wikimedia Commons

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