Borislav Stanković | |
|---|---|
Борислав Станковић | |
 | |
| 2nd Secretary General of FIBA | |
| In office 1 January 1976 – 1 January 2003 | |
| Preceded by | William Jones |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Baumann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1925-07-09)9 July 1925 |
| Died | 20 March 2020(2020-03-20) (aged 94) |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
| Occupation |
|
| Nickname(s) | Bora (Serbian Cyrillic:Бора), Boris (Борис) |
| Basketball career | |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1946–1953 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 7, 15, 4 |
| Coaching career | 1950–1970 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1946–1948 | Crvena Zvezda |
| 1948–1950 | Železničar Belgrade |
| 1950–1953 | Partizan |
Coaching | |
| 1950–1953 | Partizan |
| 1954–1961 1964–1965 | BSK / OKK Belgrade |
| 1966–1969 | Cantù |
| 1969–1970 | OKK Belgrade |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
As head coach:
As executive:
| |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |
Borislav "Bora" Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic:Борислав "Бора" Станковић; 9 July 1925 – 20 March 2020) was a Serbianbasketball player andcoach, as well as a longtime administrator in the sport's various governing bodies, includingFIBA and theInternational Olympic Committee. He played 36 games for theYugoslavian national basketball team internationally.
Stanković was pivotal in the FIBA decision to allow players from theNational Basketball Association to compete at theSummer Olympics. In 1989, he introduced a resolution to amend FIBA regulations that had previously allowed players only from professional leagues other than the NBA to enter, and the subsequent vote passed 56–13. For his contributions to the game of basketball, Stanković was inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame in 1991.[1] He was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and theFIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Simultaneous to his studies, Stanković played professionally forCrvena zvezda (1946–1948), Železničar Beograd (1948–1950), andPartizan (1950–1953), and was on the seniorYugoslav national basketball team for five years, in the early 1950s. After retiring from competitive basketball, he coachedOKK Beograd for ten consecutive seasons (1953–1963), and for a season in 1965. Stanković then moved on to the Italian clubPallacanestro Cantù, spending three seasons as its head coach (1966–1969).
Throughout his lengthy involvement with basketball, Stanković was a part of theYugoslav Olympic Committee, theInternational Olympic Committee, and the Board of Trustees at theBasketball Hall of Fame. He served asFIBA's second Secretary General from 1976 to 2002.[2]
From the beginning of his tenure as Secretary General, Stanković wanted FIBA to make NBA players eligible for international competitions, especially the Olympics.[3] At the FIBA Congress in Madrid in 1986, his attempt to pass that resolution narrowly failed by a vote of 31–27.[4][5] Undeterred, he continued to campaign for the idea, and at the 1989 FIBA Congress in Munich, his resolution overwhelmingly passed by a vote of 56–13. Beginning with the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona, NBA players began competing at all of FIBA's international competitions.[3][6]
Other thanSerbian, Stanković fluently spoke six other languages. He was inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame in 1991, as a contributor. He was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.[7] In 2007, he was enshrined as a contributor into theFIBA Hall of Fame. FIBA named the annual international basketball cup the "FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup".
Stanković was born inBihać,Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (present-dayBosnia and Herzegovina). Early in his life, he moved toNovi Sad, and then to theSyrmian town ofLedinci, duringWorld War II. After the war, Stanković went toBelgrade, where he graduated from theUniversity of Belgrade, with a degree inveterinary medicine. In 1966, he pledged his efforts to basketball full-time, ending a 10-year career as a veterinary inspector for meat control in Belgrade.[8]
Stanković died on 20 March 2020 in Belgrade.[9][10][11] He had one daughter, two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren.
The following is a selected list of orders and special awards:
Order of Merit of FR Germany (1987)
National Order of the Lion (1999)
Knight of the Legion of Honour (2001)
Order of Merits of FR Yugoslavia (2002)
Order of Honor of Republika Srpska (2010)Stanković is portrayed by Aleksandar Radojičić in the 2015 Serbian sports dramaWe Will Be the World Champions[12] and the 2016 Serbian TV seriesThe World Champions.[13]
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