WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP YUGOSLAVIA 1970
it came as no surprise that several NBA teams were interested in signing him up. If the triumph
against Brazil had cleared up the doubts over the team, the next step was to forget about the
USSR and concentrate on the match against the USA.
The always exciting match between the USA and the USSR was played. The North Americans had
displayed an excellent defence in previous matches as well as a chaotic attack. The Soviet play
was excessively automated in spite of the talents of Paulaskas and Sergei Belov, and caused their
opponents a lot of problems with the height of Andreev, Zarimuhamedov and Alexander Belov. The
game was very open with a masterful Sergei Belov (24 points) and Paulaskas (22). However, the
USSR suffered from the refereeing and all their centres fouled out which allowed the USA to
overtake them on the scoreboard.
This defeat removed any chance that the Soviet Union had of repeating their world title. Their
failure was due to an excess of confidence, bad refereeing and the poor leadership of the “Czar”
Gomelski despite the fact that they had a very well balanced team. The Yugoslavs savoured the
moment even though their last match against the USSR was not to be as decisive as everyone
had expected.
Ranko Zeravica made his calculations and set his sights on the match against the USA but a
further surprise eased their way to the gold even more. The USA lost to Italy (66-64). At this point
Yugoslavia could be crowned world champions with a victory over the USA on the penultimate day
of the tournament.
The atmosphere in the Tivoli exceeded anything that had gone before. Around 14,000 fans, well
over the 12,000 capacity, packed into the arena waving their flags. Nevertheless Yugoslavia
suffered. The Americans, with a very powerful Silliman on the block, made their rivals nervous.
Cosic missed more shots than normal. At the start of the second half the home side, inspired by
a lethal Skansi and an improved Cosic, took the lead to the delight of their supporters. A seven-
point advantage permitted Zeravica's men the luxury of turning down six free throws in the last
two minutes. The crowd went into ecstasy when Ivo Daneu came onto the court to play the final
few seconds. The final horn (70-63) sparked a joyful mass invasion of the court. Yugoslavia were
world champions for the first time in their history, and there was still one match to go.
A SAD GRAND FINALE
Meanwhile Brazil went into the final day with only one defeat (against Yugoslavia) and real
possibilities of the silver medal, it was enough for them to beat the USA and true to tradition they
did not fail. The North Americans put up a poor performance throughout the match. In fairness it
should be said that they played a strong defence but their offence was so chaotic that the
Brazilians were allowed to counterattack continuously. Brazil managed to impose their game on
their rivals and their own coach who decided not to take the last eight free throws, a decision that
almost allowed an American comeback. This US defeat combined with the posterior Soviet victory
over Yugoslavia pushed the USA down to fifth place, below Italy. The reason for this was the
American refusal to put together a competitive squad and criticism of their attitude was
intensifying at FIBA headquarters.
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FUNDACIÓN PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ