Marcelo Milanesio

Marcelo Milanesio

Milanesio in March 2006.
Personal information
Born	February 11, 1965 Córdoba, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine
Listed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Career information
Playing career	1982–2002
Position	Point guard
Number	9
Career history
1982–2002	Atenas de Córdoba
Career highlights and awards
7x Liga Nacional de Básquet champion 2x Liga Sudamericana champion
Medals Men’s Basketball Competitor for  Argentina FIBA Americas Championship 1993 San Juan National Team 1995 Neuquén National Team South American Championship 1987 Asunción National Team 1989 Guayaquil National Team 1991 Valencia National Team 1993 Guaratinguetá National Team 1995 Montevideo National Team Pan American Games 1995 Mar del Plata National team

Marcelo Gustavo Milanesio (born February 11, 1965 in Hernando, Córdoba) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. One of the most important figures in Argentine basketball, he obtained 16 Argentine championships, and was twice named MVP. He was also the player with most assists in at the 1994 World Championship.^[1] A one club man, he played all his professional life with Atenas.

Biography

Milanesio started playing basketball at the Military Factory of Río Tercero, where he was affectionately known as "Tachuela". Together with his brother Mario he joined Atenas in 1982 and debuted in the local league on April 20 of that year. In 1984, he participated on the transition of the National League to the current Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, in which he played 649 consecutive matches, always with the same club. In 1987, he obtained his first league title when Atenas won the 4th game 80-93 against Ferro Carril Oeste in Buenos Aires.

Milanesio v. River Plate in 1985.

During that year, Marcelo played with the Argentina national basketball team for the first time, in the South American Championship (won by Argentina) disputed in Asunción, Paraguay. In 1990 he became the first team's base player playing the World Championship organised by Argentina.

Known for his efficiency of external shots, he reached an average of 43.9% in shots for three in the 848 matches he played in the 18 seasons of the Argentine League in which he participated, of which he played the first 649 without skipping any match of his team.

An injury suffered before the beginning of the 1998-99 season left him out of the court for the first time in his career, but when he came back he drove Atenas to a new Championship. Since the injury, Marcelo never returned to play for the national team. In 2002, he retired from professional basketball, with 14 Championships with Atenas, and 2 with the national team.

Marcelo Milanesio has not only stood out inside the basketball court. His community activities gave him a wide recognition from the public and institutions; he was declared illustrious citizen of the cities of Hernando, Río Tercero, San Marcos Sierra and Córdoba. In 1993 he received the first decade-wise Golden Olimpia Award for Basketball, which ten years later was given to Emanuel Ginóbili.

Milanesio currently works on sharing his experience and knowledge of the game. In 2004, he organised his first National Campus at Villa Carlos Paz, which has since successfully repeated every year, and receive around 150 children and teenagers not only from Argentina, but also from neighbouring Bolivia and Chile.

On August, 2010, Milanesio was designed as assistant coach and help of Sergio Hernández in the Argentina national basketball team, which is preparing for the FIBA World Championship, that will be hosted in Turkey in 2011.^[2]

Career

Clubs

• Atenas de Córdoba (Argentina): 1984-2002
  • Games Played: 848 (649 consecutive)
  • Total Points: 10.835

International

• Argentina National Team: 1986-1998
  • Games Played: 125
  • Total Points:

Honours and awards

Championships

Clubs

The 1987 roster that won the first LNB title for the club, with Milanesio among them.

• Liga Nacional de Básquet (LNB): 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991/92, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2001/02
• Liga Sudamericana: 1997, 1998
• Sudamericano de Clubes: 1993, 1994
• Panamericano de Clubes: 1996
• Copa de Campeones: 1998, 1999
• Athens International: 1998, 1999, 2001

Argentina national team

• Sudamericano, Asunción, (Paraguay): 1987
• Panamericano, Mar del Plata, (Argentina): 1995
• Acropolis Cup, (Greece): 1990

Individual Honors

• LNB:
  • 848 games played, also has the record of consecutive games disputed (649)
  • Called for the All-Star game: 1988-90, 1992–93, 1995–2000
  • MVP of the final games: 1990
  • MVP of the regular season: 1991/92, 1993/94
  • MVP of the All-Star Game: 2002
  • Competition Winner of the Triple All-Star Game: 1990, 1993
  • Jersey number 9 (which Milanesio wore during his whole career) was retired by Atenas, the only club team where he played.^[3][4]
• Olimpia de Oro Award (for "sportsman of the year" in Argentina): 1993 (given for the first time to a basketball player)
• Olimpia de Plata Award (for "basketball player of the year" in Argentina): 1990, 1993, 1994 ^[5][6]
• Argentine player that attended most FIBA World Championships: 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
• His jersey worn in 1994 World Cup was placed in the Basketball Hall of Fame

References

1. "Pepe va por otro trono más" Olé sports newspaper (Spanish)
2. Milanesio, nuevo ayudante de campo de Hernández Diario Perfil, 2010-08-09 (Spanish)
3. Premio Konex a Milanesio
4. Trayectoria de Milanesio
5. Milanesio Celebró en la noche de su retiro La Nación, 2002-05-13
6. Biografía de Milanesio