Gianluca Basile

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Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Italy
Men's Basketball
Silver	2004 Athens	Italy

Gianluca Basile (born January 24, 1975 in Ruvo di Puglia, Italy) is an Italian basketball player. He currently plays for Winterthur FCB and is also the captain of the Italian national team. He is considered to be one of the best 1990s and 2000s Italian basketball players. Has won the silver medal in 2004 Olympic Games. He is 190 cm tall (6'3") and weighs about 90 kg.

Basile excels in the role of point guard, and is a very effective three-point thrower. He invented and named the "tiro ignorante" ("ignorant shot"), a three-pointer shot in difficult conditions which surprises the opponent. Basile played four years with Pallacanestro Reggiana and seven years with Fortitudo Bologna, with whom he won two scudetti as captain. In 2005 he was traded to Barcelona.

Basile was the leader of the national team who won silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the best result ever for Italy after 1980. His titles include also a gold and a bronze medal at the European Championships (1999 and 2003, respectively).

[edit] Player career

• Reggio Emilia (Italy): 1996-1999.
• Fortitudo Bologna (Italy): 1999-2005.
• Winterthur FCB (Spain): from 2005.

[edit] Honors & awards

• Silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, with the Italy national basketball team.
• European basketball championship winner in 1999, second place in 2003.
• Italian Basketball league champion 2004-2005
• Italian League best player of the 2003-2004 season.