The Latvian and USSR national team player will enter the basketball hall of fame

Skaidrīte Smildziņa-Budovska, the long-time center player of the Riga TTT master team and the Latvian national team, as well as the USSR national team, will be inducted into the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame, reports the Latvian Basketball Association (LBS).

The reception ceremony will take place on September 14 in Singapore. In this ceremony, American Olympic and World Champion Reggie Miller, Serbian World, European and NBA Champion Predrag Stojakovic, China’s Miao Lijie, Croatia’s Olympic, World and European Vice-Champion Danira Nakic-Bilic, New Zealander Kirk Penny, Central African Republic basketball player Romain Sato will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. and American coach Dan Peterson.

“I am very honored that they remember me, even though so much time has passed since the end of my basketball career,” LBS quotes Smildzińa-Budovska as saying. “Memories of games, of teammates, of achievements, which were many, and for which they were paid dearly, come to life. I don’t know yet whether I will be able to be present at the ceremony in Singapore myself, but it is a high evaluation not only for me – for the entire TTT team of my generation , for all Latvian basketball.”

Born in 1943, Smildziņa-Budovska became a world women’s basketball star at the age of 16. In the summer of 1959, the world championship was held in Moscow, and the head coach of the Soviet Union’s national team, the Lithuanian Steps Butauts, also included the talented Latvian in the team, who helped the national team win the championship title.

Smildziņa-Budovska won three gold medals at the World Championships, and five at the European Championships. With the TTT team, she won the European Champions Cup 11 times.

Established in 2007, the two-time Olympic, three-time world and ten-time European champion, as well as the twelve-time winner of the European Cup Ulyana Semyonova, were included in the core composition of the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame. In 2017, the world and two-time European champion Valdis Valters was inducted into the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame.

So far, 66 male and 30 female players have been inducted into the category of FIBA ​​Hall of Fame players.