Alexander Mikhaylovich Belostenny (; ; February 24, 1959 – May 25, 2010) was a Ukrainian 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 (appro ...

player. He was a member of the senior Soviet national team, from 1977 to 1992, except for an absence during a single competition, EuroBasket 1987. At a height of 2.16 m (7'0 ") tall, and a weight of 120 kg (260 lbs.), he played at the center position.

Club career

Belostenny spent most of his club career at Budivelnyk from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, and was a leading player in its only Soviet Union League title in 1989. Late in his career, he played with the German club HERZOGtel Trier, where he also competed in the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

. He was a

FIBA European Selection The FIBA Europe All-Star Game was the all-star basketball exhibition game, which was also known as the "FIBA Europe Festival". The "FIBA Europe Festival All-Star Game" was held from 1964 to 1995. It was organized by FIBA Europe. The FIBA Europe ...

, in 1979.

National team career

As a player of the senior Soviet national team, Belostenny won three gold medals at the

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 ...

( EuroBasket 1979, EuroBasket 1981, and

EuroBasket 1985 The 1985 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1985, was the 24th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 5 to 16 June 1985 in West Germany. The Soviet Union defeated Cze ...

), one gold medal at the

1988 Summer Olympic Games The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, and one bronze medal at the

1980 Summer Olympic Games The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. In addition, he is one of the top medalists in

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

history, having won four medals, one gold (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

) and three silvers (

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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Awards and accomplishments

Clubs

: (1979) *2× USSR League Champion: (1980, 1989) * Spanish Cup Winner: (1990)

Death

Belostenny died on May 25, 2010, from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

.TBB Trier website

References

External links

*
Spanish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belostenny, Alexander 1959 births 2010 deaths Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics BC Budivelnyk players Centers (basketball) Deaths from lung cancer in Germany FIBA EuroBasket–winning players FIBA World Championship–winning players Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Liga ACB players Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union Olympic basketball players for the Unified Team Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow players Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Spain Soviet expatriate basketball people in Germany Soviet expatriate basketball people in Spain Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Soviet men's basketball players 1978 FIBA World Championship players Ukrainian men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players 1986 FIBA World Championship players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball 1990 FIBA World Championship players 20th-century Ukrainian sportsmen