WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
PUERTO RICO
1974
PUERTO RICO
A huge shock struck the basketball world before this championship; the USA was beaten for the very first time in an Olympic final, that of Munich 1972. While the US players were celebrating victory on the court it was decided to repeat the last three seconds.
In these controversial three seconds the centre Alexander Belov scored the most famous basket in basketball history and gave the USSR victory and the gold medal( 51-50).
Daylight robbery? An abuse of authority? A correct decision? Even now the decision is a cause of intense disagreement. Some, in particular the USA, have never accepted the defeat and still claim the title; others, obviously including the USSR, disagree. The match was the subject of discussion for years after and added to the traditional rivalry between the two powers. th
This was the atmosphere when Puerto Rico assumed responsibility for the 7 World Championship with great hopes but few real chances of victory. The organisers seemed likely to fail in the attempt to host the games but the incorporation of Manuel Benito turned the preparation around. Benito had been responsible for the successful Eurobasket ' 73 in Barcelona. In nine months Benito put the organisation back on track and the championship was safe, although some problems remained unsolved, in particular those relating to media coverage and the stifling heat throughout the tournament.
There were slight changes to the format of the competition. One of the most important was that first round scores would be valid for the final phase so teams would not have to face each other again in the final round if they had already done so in the preliminaries.
The three group format remained but on such a small island it was decided that the group matches would be randomly distributed between the capital( San Juan) an the nearby towns of Ponce and Caguas. This meant that fans in each location would have the opportunity of seeing all of the different teams. The final round was to be played in the capital whereas the consolation phase would take place in Caguas. As usual the host team was given a bye to the final phase but a new development was that this privilege was also granted to the reigning world champions. Therefore the participation increased from thirteen to fourteen countries.
205 FUNDACIÓN PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ