Soviet Union men's national basketball team

Soviet Union

1989 )
Home Away
First international
Soviet Union 50–11 Yugoslavia  (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 27 April 1947)
Biggest win
Soviet Union 118–14 Denmark  (Moscow, Soviet Union; 25 May 1953)
Biggest defeat
Soviet Union 55–89 United States  (Melbourne, Australia; 1 December 1956)

The Soviet Union men's national basketball team (Russian: Сбо́рная СССР по баскетболу, tr. sbórnaya SSSR po basketbolu) was the national basketball team that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor countries all set up their own national teams.

Based on the number of medals, the basketball program of the former Soviet Union remains one of the most successful in the history of international basketball competitions, behind that of the United States but ahead of Spain.^[1][2][3]

History

EuroBasket 1947

The Soviets first competed in the European championship at EuroBasket 1947. They quickly established their dominance of the European field, winning both preliminary round games, all three semifinal round games, and the championship match against defending gold medallists Czechoslovakia. The Soviets outscored their opponents by an aggregate 126 points over their 6 wins, an average margin of victory of 21 points.^[4]

EuroBasket 1951

After refusing to host EuroBasket 1949 as was FIBA Europe's expectation of the Soviet Union and skipping the tournament entirely, the Soviets returned to European championships in EuroBasket 1951. They dominated the early portions of the tournament, outscoring opponents 312–117 in their four preliminary round wins. The three games of the semifinal round also posed little problem for the Soviet team, as the closest any opponent came was the Czechoslovak team losing by only 16. In the first game of the final round, which was essentially a semifinal game, the Soviets defeated Bulgaria 72–54 to advance to the championship game, a rematch against Czechoslovakia.^{[citation needed]}

In that match, the Soviet team faced its first true close test in European play. A 44–44 tie was broken by Soviet Ilmar Kullam from the free throw line with 1 second left on the clock to give the Soviets a 45–44 win. Even that was called into question, however, as one of the referees initially signaled that Kullam had stepped on the free throw line during the shot and therefore the point would be disallowed. After consultation with another referee, however, the free throw was upheld and the Soviets had won their second European championship.^[5]

EuroBasket 1953

The Soviets maintained their domination at EuroBasket 1953, which they hosted in Moscow. They had no trouble in a 3–0 preliminary round that included a 104-point slaughter of Denmark. An eight-team final round also posed little difficulty for the squad, with the closest of the 7 wins being a 29–24 slog against Hungary as the Soviets extended their streak to 3 championships with 25 wins and no losses.^[6]

EuroBasket 1955

Through four preliminary round games and the first three final round games, the Soviets extended their winning streak to 31 games. With four games left in the final round robin of EuroBasket 1955, the Soviets were facing the pesky Czechoslovakia team, which was so far had been the closest to defeating the Soviet Union, in 1951. Czechoslovakia, however, had already lost twice in the round, and had a record of 1–2 to the Soviets' 3–0 going into the game.^{[citation needed]}

In a shocking result, the 81–74 final score did not favor the Soviet Union. They did so once more before the tournament was over, losing to Hungary in a game that essentially determined the gold medal despite being only the 6th of 7 matches each team played. The Soviets' 5–2 record in the round matched that of Czechoslovakia, and the Soviets finished with only a bronze medal.^[7]

EuroBasket 1957

Two years later, at EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia, the Soviets returned to form. They won their three preliminary round games and then their seven final round games, including an exciting final match of the round robin against similarly undefeated hosts Bulgaria. The Soviets trailed 23–19 at halftime, but battled back to a 60–57 victory to take their 4th European championship.^[8]

Honours

Medals table

Competition results

Olympic Games Olympic Games record Year Result Pld W L 1936 did not participate 1948 1952 8 6 2 1956 8 5 3 1960 8 6 2 1964 9 8 1 1968 9 8 1 1972 9 9 0 1976 7 6 1 1980 8 6 2 1984 Withdrew 1988 8 7 1 1992 4th place[9] 8 5 3 Total 10/13 82 66 16 FIBA World Championship FIBA World Championship record Year Result Pld W L 1950 did not participate 1954 1959 6th place[10] 9 7 2 1963 9 7 2 1967 9 8 1 1970 9 7 2 1974 10 9 1 1978 8 6 2 1982 9 8 1 1986 10 9 1 1990 8 6 2 Total 9/11 81 67 14

FIBA EuroBasket FIBA EuroBasket record Year Result Pld W L 1935 did not participate 1937 1939 1941 Not held 1946 did not participate 1947 6 6 0 1949 did not participate 1951 9 9 0 1953 10 10 0 1955 11 9 2 1957 10 10 0 1959 9 9 0 1961 8 8 0 1963 9 9 0 1965 9 9 0 1967 9 9 0 1969 7 6 1 1971 7 7 0 1973 7 6 1 1975 7 6 1 1977 7 5 2 1979 8 7 1 1981 9 9 0 1983 7 6 1 1985 8 7 1 1987 8 7 1 1989 5 4 1 1991 did not qualify Total 21/28 170 158 12

Rosters

1947 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 14 teams

Stepas Butautas, Connor Zaleski, Zuzu Zaleski, Ilmar Kullam, Evgeny Alekseev, Anatoli Konev, Nodar Dzhordzhikiya, Vasili Kolpakov, Vytautas Kulakauskas, Justinas Lagunavičius, Alexander Moiseev, Yuri Ushakov, Kazys Petkevičius, Sergei Tarasov (Coach: Stepan Spandaryan)

1948 Olympic Games: did not participate

1949 EuroBasket: did not participate

1950 World Championship: did not participate

1951 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 17 teams

Stepas Butautas, Otar Korkia, Joann Lõssov, Anatoli Konev, Ilmar Kullam, Anatoli Belov, Heino Kruus, Alexander Moiseev, Justinas Lagunavičius, Vasili Kolpakov, Yuri Larionov, Oleg Mamontov, Evgeni Nikitin, Viktor Vlasov (Coach: Stepan Spandaryan)

1952 Olympic Games: finished 2nd among 23 teams

Stepas Butautas, Otar Korkia, Armenak Alachachian, Ilmar Kullam, Anatoli Konev, Heino Kruus, Alexander Moiseev, Yuri Ozerov, Viktor Vlasov, Justinas Lagunavičius, Algirdas Lauritėnas, Kazys Petkevičius, Lev Reshetnikov, Gunars Silins (Coach: Konstantin Travin)

1954 World Championship: did not participate

1955 EuroBasket: finished 3rd among 18 teams

Jānis Krūmiņš, Gennadi Volnov, Viktor Zubkov, Valdis Muižnieks, Maigonis Valdmanis, Armenak Alachachian, Yuri Korneev, Vladimer Ugrekhelidze, Aleksandr Petrov, Aleksandr Kandel, Viacheslav Novikov, Albert Valtin (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)

1963 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 16 teams

Sergei Belov, Gennadi Volnov, Modestas Paulauskas, Jaak Lipso, Anatoli Polivoda, Priit Tomson, Tõnno Lepmets, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Vladimir Andreev, Zurab Sakandelidze, Yuri Selikhov, Anatoli Krikun (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)

1967 World Championship: finished 1st among 13 teams

Sergei Belov, Gennadi Volnov, Jaak Lipso, Modestas Paulauskas, Priit Tomson, Anatoli Polivoda, Vladimir Andreev, Zurab Sakandelidze, Yuri Selikhov, Anatoli Krikun, Sergei Kovalenko, Vadim Kapranov (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)

1969 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 12 teams

Sergei Belov, Alexander Belov, Gennadi Volnov, Modestas Paulauskas, Priit Tomson, Vladimir Andreev, Anatoli Polivoda, Zurab Sakandelidze, Alexander Boloshev, Sergei Kovalenko, Alexander Kulkov, Vitali Zastukhov (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)

1970 World Championship: finished 3rd among 13 teams

Sergei Belov, Alexander Belov, Jaak Lipso, Modestas Paulauskas, Vladimir Andreev, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Priit Tomson, Alexander Sidjakin, Zurab Sakandelidze, Sergei Kovalenko, Anatoli Krikun, Vitali Zastukhov (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)

1971 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 12 teams

Sergei Belov, Alexander Belov, Modestas Paulauskas, Vladimir Andreev, Priit Tomson, Ivan Edeshko, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Anatoli Polivoda, Zurab Sakandelidze, Mikheil Korkia, Alexander Boloshev, Aleksei Tammiste (Coach: Vladimir Kondrashin)

1972 Olympic Games: finished 1st among 16 teams

Sergei Belov, Alexander Belov, Gennadi Volnov, Modestas Paulauskas, Ivan Edeshko, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Anatoli Polivoda, Zurab Sakandelidze, Alexander Boloshev, Mikheil Korkia, Sergei Kovalenko, Ivan Dvorni (Coach: Vladimir Kondrashin)

1973 EuroBasket: finished 3rd among 12 teams

Arvydas Sabonis, Valdis Valters, Alexander Volkov, Vladimir Tkachenko, Tiit Sokk, Alexander Belostenny, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Valdemaras Chomičius, Sergei Tarakanov, Valeri Tikhonenko, Sergei Grishaev, Andris Jekabsons (Coach: Vladimir Obukhov)

1987 EuroBasket: finished 2nd among 12 teams

As Unified Team (EUN)

1992 Olympic Games: finished 4th among 12 teams

• Stepan Spandaryan: (1947–1953, 1956–1960)
• Konstantin Travin: (1953–1955)
• Alexander Gomelsky: (1961–1970, 1977–1983, 1987–1988)
• Vladimir Kondrashin: (1971–1976)
• Vladimir Obuchov: (1985–1986)
• Vladas Garastas: (1989–1991)
• Yuri Selikhov: (Unified Team) (1992)

See also

• Soviet Union national under-19 basketball team
• Soviet Union national under-17 basketball team
• Soviet Union women's national basketball team
• Russia national basketball team

References

External links

• Soviet Union national basketball team at archive.fiba.com