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.

Josip Gjergja
Personal information
Born (1937-11-24) November 24, 1937
Zara, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityCroatian
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
Playing career1958–1976
PositionPoint guard
Coaching career1983–1994, 2003
Career history
As player:
1958–1976Zadar
As coach:
1983Yugoslavia
1984–1985PAOK
1993–1994Zadar
1994Croatia
2003Prishtina
Career highlights and awards
As a player:
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal – second place1963 Brazil
Silver medal – second place1967 Uruguay
EuroBasket
Silver medal – second place1965 USSR
Head coach for  Croatia
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place1994 Canada

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.

See also

Notes and references
Notes
  1. 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
  1. "Intervista a Pino Giergia" (PDF). Il Dalmata. 1–2015: 5–6.
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