Válter Apolinário da Silva (31 January 1977), commonly known as Valtinho da Silva, or simply Valtinho, is a Brazilian 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. Born in Rio Claro, he played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position, and he is considered one of the last classical point guards of Brazilian basketball. Recognized for being a player who had responsibility in defining moments, he knew how to control the dynamics of the game, always controlling the pace of his team on the court.

Professional career

Valtinho was the conductor of Uberlândia, and beside the head coach Helio Rubens Garcia, and his son, Helio Rubens Filho, won the 2004 Brazilian national league title, beating

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

in the finals series 3–0. After the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, Valtinho moved to

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, to compete for the state championship in Rio de Janeiro, where he was defeated by his greatest team rival, Flamengo. His short spell at ''Gigante da Colina'' ended, when the

signed with the then Brazilian League champions, Brasilia. In three seasons with Brasilia, Valtinho became one of the greatest club idols of the fans of Brasilia. Along with Alex Garcia and Arthur Belchior, da Silva was defeated in two consecutive finals of the Brazilian national league championship by Flamengo, which initiated the largest Brazilian basketball rivalry of recent times. But the following season, Brasilia hit back at the team led by

Marcelinho Machado Marcelo "Marcelinho" Magalhães Machado (born 12 April 1975) is a former Brazilian professional basketball player. At a height of tall, and a weight of , he played at the shooting guard and small forward positions, with small forward being his ...

winning the

FIBA South American League The Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto ( Portuguese: ''Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete'', English: ''South American Basketball League''), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the secon ...

and the Brazilian national championship, in 2010. After the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

, Valtinho returned to the city where he was an idol, Uberlândia. In his first two seasons with Uberlândia in the NBB, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals – by Brasília in 2011, and by Flamengo in 2012. But the team's third appearance in the NBB in 2013, included the return of two of the club's idols, Helio Rubens Garcia and his son. The return of the two, added to Valtinho and Americans Robert Day and Robby Collum, led to an Uberlândia final against Flamengo, repeating the Brazilian League final from nine years earlier. But the ending was different. With the help of their fanatical fans, Flamengo annulled Robert Day, and led by the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Caio Torres Caio Aparecido Da Silveira Torres (born 3 June 1987) is a Brazilian professional basketball player. Professional career Torres declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft and 2007 NBA draft, but withdrew prior to both. Torres has played wi ...

, won their third Brazilian national league title.

National team career

A great season with Uberlândia, led to Valtinho being selected by head coach

Lula Ferreira Aluísio ("Lula") Elias Ferreira Xavier, commonly known as Lula Ferreira (born January 2, 1951, in São Paulo), is a Brazilian professional basketball coach. Coaching career Clubs During his professional sports club, club head coaching career, F ...

, to compete at the

, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. It was Valtinho's return to the Brazilian national team, after four years. The team, which had players like

Leandro Barbosa Leandro Mateus Barbosa (; born November 28, 1982), also known as Leandrinho Barbosa, is a Brazilian former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also re ...

Marquinhos Marcos Aoás Corrêa (born 14 May 1994), better known as Marquinhos (), is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back and Captain (association football), captains both club Paris Saint-Germain FC, Par ...

, and

Marcelinho Huertas Marcelo "Marcelinho" Tieppo Huertas (born 25 May 1983) is a Brazilian professional basketball player and the captain (sports), team captain for CB Canarias of the Spanish Liga ACB. He has represented the Brazil national basketball team, Brazi ...

, received unconditional support of Brazilian fans, and won the title, after winning the final against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Valtinho was called by head coach Rubén Magnano to play with Brazil at the

, but he was eventually cut from the team, before the tournament began.

References

External links

FIBA ProfileLatinbasket.com ProfileNBB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Valter da 1977 births Living people Associação Bauru Basketball players Basketball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Club Athletico Paulistano basketball players CR Vasco da Gama basketball players Franca Basquetebol Clube players Novo Basquete Brasil players Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games basketball players for Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists in basketball Point guards São José Basketball players UniCEUB/BRB players Unitri/Uberlândia basketball players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Basketball players from São Paulo (state) Sportspeople from Rio Claro, São Paulo