Josip Gjergja
Josip "Pino" Gjergja (also transliterated Đerđa, Djerdja or Giergia; born 24 November 1937), also credited as Giuseppe Giergia,[lower-alpha 1] is a retired Croatian basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. He was nominated for the EuroLeague's 50 Greatest Contributors list in 2008. He was born in Zadar, to an Arbanasi family, hence the variously transcribed name. At a height of 1.76 m (5'9") tall, he played at the point guard position.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Zara, Kingdom of Italy | November 24, 1937|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Croatian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1958–1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Point guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 1983–1994, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1958–1976 | Zadar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983 | Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1984–1985 | PAOK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1993–1994 | Zadar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994 | Croatia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Prishtina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As a player:
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Medals
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Playing career
Gjergja wore KK Zadar's jersey for 18 consecutive seasons, thus becoming one of the club's legends, alongside Krešimir Ćosić. He was a three time Yugoslav Basketball League champion, from 1965 to 1968, and won another two Yugoslav championships, back-to back, in 1974 and 1975. He also won the Yugoslav Cup in 1970.
National team career
Gjergja was a member of the Yugoslav national team. With Yugoslavia, he won two FIBA World Cup silver medals, in 1963 and 1967, as well as a EuroBasket silver medal in 1965. He also participated in two Summer Olympic Games, in 1960 and 1964.
Coaching career
Gjergja began a coaching career after his retirement from playing. As a head coach, he led the senior Croatian national team to the FIBA World Cup bronze medal, at the 1994 FIBA World Championship. In 2003, he coached the club team, Prishtina, in Kosovo.
Notes and references
- Notes
- Giuseppe Giergia was his birth name, changed by the Yugoslav regime. Recently he obtained legally to change his name back to the original version[1]
- References
- "Intervista a Pino Giergia" (PDF). Il Dalmata. 1–2015: 5–6.
External links
- Josip Djerdja at FIBAeurope.com
- Josip Djerdja at FIBA.com at Archive.today (archived 2013-01-22)
- Josip Djerdja at the International Olympic Committee
- Giuseppe Gjergja at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)