Sandro Gamba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alessandro Gamba, best known as Sandro Gamba, (born in Milan, Italy, on June 3, 1932) is an Italian basketball coach and former professional basketball player.

Having played on several teams, with which he won ten Italian championships across his career as a player, and having also captained the Italian national team (for which he had debuted in 1952) at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Gamba retired from play in 1965 and became a coach in the top Italian professional league, Serie A, where he would coach teams from Olimpia Milano (1965-1973), Pallacanestro Varese (1973-1977), Pallacanestro Torino (1977-1980) and Virtus Bologna (1985-1987).

In 1979, Gamba assumed the coaching duties of the national team; he would continue as the coach of the Italian basketball team until 1992, except for a break in the years 1985-1987, leading his team at the Olympic Games in 1980 (when his team won a silver medal), 1984, 1988, and 1992, and at the European Basketball Championship seven times (garnering a gold in 1983, a bronze in 1985, and a silver in 1991).

In view of his many years of international coaching and his continued involvement with basketball clincics on several continents, Gamba was recognized as a finalist for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and was elected as a member in 2006.