Sergei Alexandrovich Belov (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Бело́в; 23 January 1944 – 3 October 2013) was a Russian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, most noted for playing for

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

and the senior

Soviet Union national basketball team The Soviet Union men's national basketball team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по баскетболу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po basketbolu) was the national basketball team that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After t ...

. 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 The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

with the

Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

during the

1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Summer Olympics was the official opening ceremony held in the afternoon at 16:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 19 July 1980 in the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium. It was attended by the General Secretary o ...

, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1991, Belov was named by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

as the Best FIBA Player ever. He became the first international player to be inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

on 11 May 1992. He was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named one of the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural sea ...

in 2008.

Early life

Sergei Belov was born in the village of Nashchyokovo, Shegarsky District,

Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast (russian: То́мская о́бласть, ''Tomskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Great Russian Encyclopedia The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a ...

(2005), Moscow: ''Bolshaya Rossiyskaya Entsiklopediya'' Publisher, vol. 3, p. 227. 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 Russian Basketball Federation (russian: Российская Федерация Баскетбола, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Basketbola), also known as RBF, is a national governing body of basketball in Russia. It was founded in 1991, and is the ...

(1993–98).

Career

RIAN archive 104486 22nd Olympics opening gala

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

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

, for nearly fourteen years (1967–1980), Belov helped them win a

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

gold medal in 1972, and three bronze medals in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

. He also helped them to become the

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

champions in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, and the

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

champions in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

, and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. He also won the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

, in 1970, as well. In the gold medal game of the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

, Belov scored 20 points against the

United States national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

, as the Soviet Union controversially defeated the USA, by a score of 51–50, to win the gold.

Later life

Belov was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

, with whom he won the USSR League championship in 1982 and 1990. He was also the head coach of

Ural Great Perm PBC Ural Great Perm was a Russian professional basketball club that was located in Perm, Russia. The club's home arena was Molot Sports Hall. The team played in the Russian Super League. History The club was established in the year 1995 on the ...

. 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 The Russia men's national basketball team (russian: национа́льная сбо́рная Росси́и по баскетболу, natsionalnaya sbornaya rossii po basketbolu) represents Russia in international basketball competition. Th ...

, he won silver medals at both the

1994 FIBA World Championship The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple ...

and the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 ...

, and the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 1997. He was also Russia's head coach at the

EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...

and the EuroBasket 1999. Belov died on 3 October 2013, in Perm, Russia.

Legacy

Asteroid 296638 Sergeibelov, discovered by Timur Kryachko in 2009, was named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...

on 16 March 2014 ().

Awards and accomplishments

* Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовое отличие») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour o ...

*As a player: **2 × EuroLeague Champion: 1969, 1971 **3 ×

EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer The EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer is the individual award for the player that gained the highest points in the EuroLeague Finals, the championship finals of the European-wide top-tier level professional club basketball competition, the EuroLeagu ...

: 1970, 1971, 1973 **11 × USSR League Champion: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 **2 × USSR Cup Winner: 1972, 1973 **

: ***: 1970 **

: ***: 1972 ***:

: ***:

***:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

***: 1970 (

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

) **

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

: ***:

(

***:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

***:

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

** FIBA's 50 Greatest Players: 1991 ( Voted #1) **

: 1992 ** FIBA Hall of Fame: 2007 **

: 2008 *As a head coach: **2 × USSR League Champion: 1982, 1990 **

FIBA Order of Merit FIBA Order of Merit is an international basketball award that is awarded by FIBA, the international basketball federation. The award is given to individuals that have made very significant individual contributions to furthering the sport of basket ...

: 1995 **2 × Russian Championship Champion: 2001, 2002 ** Russian Cup Winner: 2004 ** North European League Champion: 2001 **

: ***:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

: ***:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

References and notes

External links

* *
Euroleague.net Article On Belov

Euroleague.net 50 Greatest Contributors Profile
*

* *

Euroleague & International Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belov, Sergei 1944 births 2013 deaths Armed Forces sports society athletes 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 Ural Yekaterinburg players FIBA EuroBasket-winning players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees 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 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic basketball players of 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 1967 FIBA World Championship players 1970 FIBA World Championship players 1974 FIBA World Championship players 1978 FIBA World Championship players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Tomsk Oblast