Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born | Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | August 24, 1960||||||||||||||
Died | November 4, 2019 | (aged 59)||||||||||||||
Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school |
Lockerby Composite School ( Sudbury, Ontario) | ||||||||||||||
College | University of Victoria (1980–1984) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1984: 5th round, 106th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |||||||||||||||
Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
Number | 13, 6 | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Ilario Enrico "Eli" Pasquale (August 24, 1960 – November 4, 2019) was a Canadian basketball player and two-time Olympian. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Considered one of the best basketball players in Canada's history, [1] [5] [8] Pasquale was the starting point guard and co-captain of the Canada men's national basketball team during, arguably, Canada's greatest era of basketball. [2] [6] [7] During this time, Pasquale competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, two World Student Games, four FIBA World Championships and two Pan American games. [2] [3] [7]
In 1984, Pasquale was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics as the 106th overall pick. [1] [2] [3] [4] [9] [10] Pasquale later played professionally in Argentina, West Germany and Switzerland. [5] [6] [7] [10]
During university, Pasquale led the University of Victoria to 5 straight national championships. [1] [2] [3] [9] Pasquale was the university's all-time leading scorer when he graduated. [1] [4] [5] [7] [10] In 1984, he was awarded the Mike Moser Trophy as the male Canadian university player of the year. [2] [7] [9] [11] Pasquale was a three-time First-Team All-Canadian (1981-1984) [2] [4] [7] [9] [10] [12] two-time CIAU national tournament MVP (1981, 1983), [2] [7] [9] [13] three-time CIAU tournament all-star (1981, 1983, 1984) [14] and five-time first team Canada West all-star. [7]
Pasquale was a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team for over 15 years. [1] [3] [4] [5] [9] [10] Pasquale was the starting point guard and co-captain of this Canadian team in what was arguably Canada's greatest era of basketball. [2] [6] [7]
Pasquale represented Canada in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. [1] [2] [3] The 1984 Olympics were notable because Canada finished 4th overall, narrowly missing a medal. [1] [2] [3] [8] In 1988, Canada finished respectably in 6th. [2] [3] [4] [5] [7]
This 1984 bronze-medal game constituted the only time in 80+ years where Canada had a legitimate chance of winning an Olympic medal in basketball. [8] In this bronze medal game was highly competitive, being tied 18 times with 12 lead changes, with Canada being within one point with less than a minute of play remaining. [8] Pasquale played well in this crucial game in Canadian basketball history, leading Canada in points (16) and assists (5), while also obtaining 6 rebounds. [8]
Pasquale represented Canada in the 1983 and 1985 World Student Games. [2] [3] [7] [9] In the 1983 World Student Games hosted in Edmonton, Alberta, the Canadian team won the gold medal. [2] [3] [6] [7] [9] [10] This constituted one of the finest moments in Canadian basketball history, being the only time in which Canada has won the gold medal in an international basketball tournament. [15] In the semifinals of this tournament, Canada defeated a talented US team led by future NBA legends Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. [2] [3] [6] [7] [9] [10] In the 1985 World Student Games, Canada won the bronze medal. [3] [7]
Pasquale competed for Canada in four FIBA World Championships, [3] [5] where in 1982, Canada placed 4th. [1] [10] Pasquale also competed for Canada in two Pan American games where in 1983, Canada finished fourth and in 1987, Canada finished 5th. [2] [4] [5] [6] [7]
After a 5-year absence, in 1997 Pasquale represented Canada in the Tournament of the Americas that qualified Canada for the 1998 FIBA World Championship. [1] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10]
In 1984, Pasquale was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 5th round as the 106th overall pick. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] He played three exhibition games with the team before being released. [4] [7] [10] The following year, Pasquale nearly made the Chicago Bulls, who were looking for someone to play in the backcourt beside Michael Jordan. [7] Pasquale had impressed the Bulls, but ultimately, they chose with American John Paxson. [7] Pasquale was their final cut. [7]
Pasquale played in the Amateur Athletic Union for Seattle and the Los Angeles summer pro league. [7] [10] He played professionally in Argentina (in 1986), in West Germany (in 1989) and in Switzerland (in 1990). [5] [6] [7] [10]
Legendary coach Ken Shields described Pasquale as "the face of UVic basketball". [3] Pasquale played for UVic for 5 years, leading the team to 5-straight national championships. [1] [2] [3] [4] [7] [9] Pasquale is believed to be the first athlete in all of Canadian university sports history to win five consequtive national championships. [2] [7] He is only one of five athletes to win five national titles in Canadian university sports. [5] [7] [9] Pasquale and his UVic team were five-time Canada West champions as well, going 75-5 against Canada West teams in regular season play during his time at UVic. [3]
Pasquale was the all-time leading scorer at UVic when he graduated. [1] [4] [5] [7] [10] In 1984, he was awarded the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as CIAU's outstanding men's basketball player. [2] [7] [9] [11] Pasquale was a three-time First-team All Canadian (1981-1984), [2] [4] [7] [9] [10] [12] two-time CIAU national tournament MVP (1981, 1983) [2] [7] [9] [13] three-time CIAU national tournament all-star (1981, 1983, 1984) [14] and five-time Canada West first team all-star. [7]
In 1982, he was named the BC University Athlete of the Year. [7] [9] Twice, he was named UVic's top male athlete. [7]
Pasquale was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. [1] In 2021, he was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. [2] He was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame in its 2020-21 induction class. [3] In 2005, he was inducted into the University of Victoria Athletic Hall of Fame. [9] Similarly, in 2006 his jersey number, 13, was retired by the university, being only one of three athletes thus honored by the university. [2] [4] [7] [9] In 2014 he was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and in 2008 he was inducted into the Sudbury Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. [10]
Additionally, the 1979-86 UVic Men's Basketball teams were inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame (2019-2020 induction class); the 1979-80 UVic team was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame (2020); and the 1982-1983 UVic team was inducted into the University of Victoria Sports Hall of Fame (2023), with Pasquale being recognized as a team member of each of these team inductions. [16] [17] [18]
In retirement, Eli focused his time on his young family and his immensely popular basketball camps. [7] Beginning in 1985 and right up to his passing in 2019, he ran youth development camps all over BC, particularly in Victoria. [2] [6] [7] [10] Thousands of BC kids got their start in basketball through Eli’s camps. [2] [6] [7] [10]
Pasquale was born on August 24, 1960 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. [1] [2] [5] [7] [10] He grew up in Gatchell, Ontario, a predominantly Italian neighbourhood of Sudbury. [10] He played his first organized basketball in Grade 8 on his school team, St. Francis School. [10] By grade 10, Pasquale's height was a mere 5 feet, 3 inches. [10]
On November 4, 2019, Pasquale passed away from esophageal cancer. [3] [5] [6] [7]