RANKO ŽERAVICA - ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL COACHES IN HISTORY

BIJELJINA, OCTOBER 28 /SRNA/ - Serbian basketball coach Ranko Žeravica, who led the Yugoslav men's national team to its greatest titles, died on October 29, 2015.

Born in 1929, Žeravica coached Yugoslavia at three Olympic Games, three World Championships and three European Championships.

His greatest achievement was the gold medal at the 1970 World Championship in Ljubljana, when Yugoslavia beat the United States.

He was inducted into the International Basketball Federation /FIBA/ Hall of Fame in 2007.

He began coaching in the early 1950s, as his playing career was coming to an end.

In 1960, Žeravica became a professional coach with the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia, and until 1966 he coached men's and women's teams at Belgrade's Radnički.

For some twenty years, over several spells, he led the Yugoslav men's national team to titles with great success.

Alongside his work with the national team, he played a decisive role in Partizan's rise in the early 1970s, leading a team built around Dražen Dalipagić and Dragan Kićanović that went on to win many trophies in the years that followed.

Žeravica will also be remembered as a coach who successfully combined the American and Russian schools of basketball.

In 1979 and 1980, he also successfully coached the Argentine national team.

In the 1980s, he was head coach of Red Star, and he holds the club record for most wins /167 in 272 games/.

Ranko Žeravica was buried in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at Belgrade's New Cemetery.