Sergei Belov
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.[3] Belov was named to the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007. He was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007[4] 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.[5] 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).[5]
Career
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/RIAN_archive_104486_22nd_Olympics_opening_gala.jpg/147px-RIAN_archive_104486_22nd_Olympics_opening_gala.jpg)
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.[6]
Legacy
[edit]Asteroid 296638 Sergeibelov, discovered by Timur Kryachko in 2009, was named in his memory.[7] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 16 March 2014 (M.P.C. 87546).[8]
Awards and accomplishments
[edit]- As a player:
- 2 × EuroLeague Champion: 1969, 1971
- 3 × EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer: 1970, 1971, 1973
- 11 × USSR League Champion: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
- 2 × USSR Cup Winner: 1972, 1973
- Summer Universiade:
Gold: 1970
- Summer Olympic Games:
- FIBA World Cup:
- FIBA EuroBasket:
- Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR
- Order of the Badge of Honour
- Medal "For Distinguished Labour"
- FIBA's 50 Greatest Players: 1991 (Voted #1)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: 1992
- FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team: 2007
- FIBA Hall of Fame: 2007
- 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors: 2008
- 101 Greats of European Basketball: 2018
- As a head coach:
- 2 × USSR League Champion: 1982, 1990
- FIBA Order of Merit: 1995
- 2 × Russian Championship Champion: 2001, 2002
- Russian Cup Winner: 2004
- North European League Champion: 2001
- FIBA World Cup:
- FIBA EuroBasket:
Bronze: 1997
References and notes
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Sergei Belov FIBA Profile. Fibaeurope.com (1972-09-09). Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
- ^ Fran Sypek (12 May 1992). "From Russia with note, Belov accepts induction". Union-News. p. 31. Retrieved 21 August 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ FIBA Hall of Fame page on Belov Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. halloffame.fiba.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
- ^ a b Great Russian Encyclopedia (2005), Moscow: Bolshaya Rossiyskaya Entsiklopediya Publisher, vol. 3, p. 227.
- ^ "Умер олимпийский чемпион по баскетболу Сергей Белов". Lenta.ru. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ "296638 Sergeibelov (2009 SD101)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
External links
[edit] Media related to Sergei Belov at Wikimedia Commons
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 March 2010)
- FIBA.com Olympic Legends Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 19 October 2017)
- Sergei Belov at the FIBA Hall of Fame (archive)
- Sergei Belov at FIBA
- Sergei Belov at Olympedia
- Sergei Belov at Olympics.com
- Euroleague.net Article On Belov
- Euroleague.net 50 Greatest Contributors Profile
- Interbasket.net Profile
- Euroleague & International Statistics
- 1944 births
- 2013 deaths
- 1967 FIBA World Championship players
- 1970 FIBA World Championship players
- 1974 FIBA World Championship players
- 1978 FIBA World Championship players
- Armed Forces (sports society) sportspeople
- Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- BC Uralmash Yekaterinburg players
- FIBA EuroBasket-winning players
- FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- FIBA World Championship-winning players
- Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union
- Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union
- Olympic cauldron lighters
- Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- Olympic medalists in basketball
- PBC CSKA Moscow coaches
- PBC CSKA Moscow players
- PBC Ural Great coaches
- People from Tomsk Oblast
- Russian basketball coaches
- Russian men's basketball players
- Shooting guards
- Soviet basketball coaches
- Soviet men's basketball players
- Sportspeople from Tomsk Oblast
- Summer World University Games medalists in basketball