BRA – Nunes hails the great Ubiratan; Colangelo salutes 2010 Sprinfield class
RIO DE JANEIRO (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame) – Brazil are celebrating another major honor for the late Maciel “Ubiratan” Pereira with their legendary center now set to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame announced on Monday that Ubiratan, one of the dominating players in the 1960s and ’70s, is in the 2010 class that will be enshrined on August 13 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Ubiratan will be honored posthumously, along with American greats Dennis Johnson and Gus Johnson.
Making it to Springfield is yet another honor for Ubiratan, the inspiration of Brazil’s gold-medal winning run at the 1963 FIBA World Championship.
He entered the FIBA Hall of Fame last year.
“The extraordinary achievements of the eternal Ubiratan leave our basketball filled with joy and pride,” said Carlos Nunes, the president of the Brazil Basketball Confederation.
“Bira was an exemplary player, dedicated and brilliant, leaving his unforgettable mark on Brazilian and world basketball.
“Being in the Hall of Fame is a tribute to those who do absolutely so much for the sport.”
Ubiratan had no equals in the low post in South America.
In addition to the ’63 world title, the 1.99m star fired Brazil to bronze at the Tokyo Olympics the following year.
Ubiratan was a silver-medal winner at the 1970 FIBA World Championship in Yugoslavia and was the second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game.
Recipient of the FIBA Order of Merit in 1994, Ubiratan played for Clube Espéria (1961), Corinthians (1962-1969), Splugen Brau Venezia (Italy, 1970-1972), Trianon Clube (1972), Sírio (1973), Palmeiras (1974-1978) and São José dos Campos (1979-1982).
He passed away in 2002 at the age of 58.
Ubiratan is a member of a glittering 2010 class.
Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen, two-time Olympic gold medalists for Team USA and members of their 1992 Dream Team, along with Olympic champion and two-time FIBA World Championship for Women gold-medalist Cynthia Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss (contributor) and high school coaching great Bob Hurley Sr are the individuals heading to Springfield.
Two celebrated teams - the 1960 USA Men’s Olympic team and the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team – are also going into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board, said: "The Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 represents everything that is great about the game of basketball.
"From the two gold-medal winning USA Olympic teams, to a high school coach who dedicated his life to the game, to a diverse group of individuals who have excelled as collegians, professionals and great contributors to our sport, this group of Hall-of-Famers will be known as one of the great classes in history."
John Stockton, who teamed up with Karl Malone for many years with the Utah Jazz and also played on the Dream Team, said to the Salt Lake Tribune: "I don't think it surprised anyone.
"But that kind of fits in with what happened his whole career. He was such a great player that what he did every night was taken for granted, a little bit. Everybody just expected it because of his greatness."
Stockton entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year with Michael Jordan and David Robinson.
The enshrinement ceremony will be held on August 13 at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The FIBA Hall of Fame class of 2010 will be inducted on 12th September 2010 in Istanbul during the Final of the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.