PR n°29 - FIBA Hall of Fame's 2007 Class of inductees announced

GENEVA (FIBA) - The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was founded on 18th June 1932 in Geneva. Thus, today, 18th June 2007, FIBA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary and is very proud to announce, on such a special occasion, its Hall of Fame's 2007 Class of Inductees.

Please find below the list of 20 inductees for the 2007 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame:

PLAYERS:
Mr. Sergei BELOV (RUS)
Mr. Dražen DALIPAGIC (SRB)
Mr. Ivo DANEU (SLO)
Mr. Oscar FURLONG (ARG)
Mr. Nikos GALIS (GRE)
Ms. Hortência MARCARI (BRA)
Mr. Pierluigi MARZORATI (ITA)
Ms. Ann MEYERS (USA)
Mr. Amaury PASOS (BRA)
Mr. Emiliano RODRÍGUEZ (ESP)
Mr. Bill RUSSELL (USA)
Ms. Uljana SEMJONOVA (LAT)

COACHES:
Ms. Lidia ALEXEEVA (RUS)
Mr. Dean SMITH (USA)
Mr. Togo Renan SOARES, "Kanela" (posthumous) (BRA)
Mr. Ranko ŽERAVICA (SRB)

TECHNICAL OFFICIALS:
Mr. Mario HOPENHAYM (URU)
Mr. Ervin KASSAI (HUN)
Mr. Allen RAE (CAN)

CONTRIBUTOR:
Mr. Borislav STANKOVIC (SRB)

The complete biographical sketches of the 20 above-mentioned inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame can be found on www.halloffame.fiba.com

On 12th September 2007, during the EuroBasket in Spain, the official enshrinement ceremony of the 2007 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame will take place in Alcobendas (Madrid, Spain). All details of this ceremony will be announced in due time.

About the FIBA Hall of Fame

The primary goal of the FIBA Hall of Fame is to reflect the history of the sport and its protagonists. The key criterion for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame is outstanding achievement, at the international level, to the development and status of the sport of basketball.

The FIBA Hall of Fame was officially inaugurated on 1st March 2007. The FIBA Hall of Fame, built with the help of the city of Alcobendas (Madrid, Spain) and upon initiative of Mr. Pedro Ferrándiz, legendary coach of Real Madrid and founder and president of the Foundation that carries his name, is a five-floor building that covers 2.000 square meters.

On 1st March 2007, in addition to the official inauguration of the building, the announcement of the initial inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame was made. For this initial enshrinement ceremony, the International Basketball Federation decided to pay tribute to a selection of internationally-renowned figures who made outstanding contributions to our sport of basketball and who, regrettably, are no longer with us. For the complete list of posthumous inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame, please visit: www.halloffame.fiba.com

The procedure for nomination and election into the FIBA Hall of Fame is as follows:

Inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame are divided into four categories: PLAYERS (they must have been retired from international competition for a minimum of five years), COACHES, TECHNICAL OFFICIALS (REFEREES AND COMMISSIONERS) and CONTRIBUTORS.

Nominations for inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame can be submitted by FIBA member national federations, FIBA Zone Commissions, Central Board members and FIBA Screening Committee members.

The FIBA Screening Committee, consisting of FIBA Secretary General Mr. Patrick Baumann (SUI) and Central Board members Mr. Jenaro Marchand (PUR) and Mr. Manfred Ströher (GER), after having carefully studied all the received nominations for inductees, submits a final list of candidates to the FIBA Honours Committee.

The FIBA Honours Committee, comprised of FIBA President, Mr. Bob Elphinston (AUS), FIBA Vice President, Mr. George Vassilakopoulos (GRE), and FIBA Secretary General Emeritus, Mr. Borislav Stankovic (SRB), then assesses the list of nominations provided by the Screening Committee and makes the final decisions regarding each intake into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

After the induction of the 2007 Class has taken place, enshrinement ceremonies into the FIBA Hall of Fame will take place every two years and will be limited to a maximum of six inductees per year.

The address and contact details of the FIBA Hall of Fame & FIBA Pedro Ferrándiz Foundation are as follows:

FIBA Hall of Fame & FIBA Pedro Ferrándiz Foundation
Avenida Olímpica, 22
-Arroyo de la Vega-
28108 Alcobendas (Madrid)
SPAIN
Phones: + 34 91 662 19 13 and + 34 91 662 17 84
Fax: + 34 91 661 90 99

www.halloffame.fiba.com