Roberto Chiacig (born 1 December 1974 in Cividale del Friuli, Italy) is an Italian former 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, still playing at an amateur level. Playing as a center, his most notable achievement was the silver medal obtained by the Italian national team, of which he was a member, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. According to many experts, Roberto Chiacig is one of Europe's best centers of all time. Beyond playing internationally, he also has had a long club career in Italy, and abroad, winning an Italian League championship title with Montepaschi Siena.

Professional career

Chiacig grew up in the youth ranks of Benetton Treviso, making his debut for the side in a first division

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

game on 6 February 1994, playing 4 minutes. After a one-year loan to Serie A2 side Floor Padova, he broke into the first team. The Italian moved abroad in 1996, spending one year with

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

side AEK Athens. Returning to Italy in 1997, he signed with Teamsystem Bologna. With the Bologna team, he would win the Italian Cup and Italian Supercup in 1998. He stayed there until early 1999, finishing the season with Zucchetti Reggio Emilia. Chiacig then spent the 1999-2000 season with Zucchetti Montecatini. Joining Montepaschi Siena in 2000, he spent 6 seasons with the club, winning the 2001–02 FIBA Saporta Cup, the 2003–04 Lega Basket Serie A and another Italian Supercup in 2004. He then moved to the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

in 2006, with Pamesa Valencia. However, he only stayed until February 2007, finishing the season with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma. In 2007, he joined La Fortezza Bologna, rivals of former club Fortitudo. He stayed there for two years, winning the 2008–09 FIBA EuroChallenge. Chiacig then moved to Scafati Basket in 2009, also staying there two years. After another season at Pallacanestro Reggiana, he joined Angelico Biella in September 2012. He was released after around three months, joining amateur side Costone Siena in January 2013. Chiacig only stayed a month with Costone, signing with Fortitudo Agrigento in February. The next year he had another stint with Scafati Basket. In 2014 Chiacig returned to the club where he had the most success, Mens Sana 1871 Siena (formerly Montepaschi), by now in the third division Serie B Basket.

International career

Making his international debut with Italy in 1994, Chiacig participated in the 1997 Summer Universiade. With the senior

Italian national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team () represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBasket tournaments, winning two gold medals ( ...

, he took part in a succession of international tournaments, starting with the 1998 FIBA World Championship. He posted 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds, in nearly 18 minutes per game, as Italy won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 1999. In the EuroBasket 2003, he had 22.1 points and 14.3 rebounds, in around 18, minutes as Italy took home the bronze. While playing in the

, his second

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

participation after the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, he contributed 16.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, to Italy's run to the final, earning a silver medal in the process. Chiacig's last games with the national team came during the EuroBasket 2005.

Honours and accomplishments

Individual

* Premio Reverberi (Oscar del basket): Best Male Italian Player (2002)

Orders

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

2nd Class / Grand Officer ("Grande Ufficiale"): conferred on 27 September 2004 by President

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the President of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994. A World War II veteran, C ...

Team

Clubs

* Italian LBA League Champion: (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) *

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...

Champion: (

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

) * Italian Cup Winner: (

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

) * FIBA EuroChallenge Champion: (

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

) * Italian SuperCup Winner: ( 1998, 2004)

Italian senior national team

* 2004 Athens Summer Olympics: * EuroBasket 1999 France: * EuroBasket 2003 Sweden:

References

External links

Lega Basket Serie A profile
Retrieved 17 June 2015
Liga ACB profile
Retrieved 17 June 2015
EuroLeague statistics
Retrieved 17 June 2015

Retrieved 17 June 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiacig, Roberto 1974 births Living people AEK B.C. players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) FIBA EuroBasket–winning players Fortitudo Agrigento players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Italian men's basketball players Italian expatriate basketball people in Greece Italian expatriate basketball people in Spain Italian people of Slovenian descent Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Mens Sana Basket players Montecatiniterme Basketball players Olympic basketball players for Italy Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Italy Pallacanestro Biella players Pallacanestro Petrarca Padova players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Pallacanestro Treviso players Virtus Roma players People from Cividale del Friuli Sportspeople from the Province of Udine Scafati Basket players Valencia Basket players Virtus Bologna players 1998 FIBA World Championship players 20th-century Italian sportsmen