04.10 Soviet Basketball Legend Belov Mourned in US
WASHINGTON, October 3 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) American basketball players and officials on Thursday mourned the death of legendary Soviet player Sergei Belov, an Olympic gold medalist known for his deadly jump shot and steely demeanor who was the first international player elected to the US Basketball Hall of Fame.
The basketball community has lost a great friend, National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner David Stern said in a statement to RIA Novosti. Sergei Belov left an indelible mark on the sport. His contributions were extraordinary.
Belov, who passed away Thursday in the Urals city of Perm at the age of 69 after a long illness, was perhaps best known in the West as the catalyst in the Soviet national teams controversial victory in the gold medal game against the United States at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
He was the only player to score in double figures in the game, netting 20 points as the Soviets beat the Americans 51-50 on a last-second shot in a confusing finish protested by the US team. It was the American squads first Olympic basketball loss ever.
He was a hero, and were all going to remember him and respect the memory of a man who brought the USSR to that kind of level, Andrei Kirilenko, a 12-year NBA veteran currently with the Brooklyn Nets and the best Russian player of his generation, told RIA Novosti in a telephone interview.
