Eli Pasquale
Encyclopedia
Ilario Enrico Pasquale (born August 24, 1960 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a former star Canadian basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. A 6-foot, 1-inch point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
, he led the Canadian national men's basketball team
Canadian national men's basketball team
The Canadian national men's basketball team represents Canada in international basketball competitions. The team is currently ranked 24th by FIBA. Athletes for this team are selected by Canada Basketball...
during two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, three FIBA World Championship
FIBA World Championship
The FIBA World Championship is an international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body...
s, and two Pan-American Games.
Pasquale grew up in Gatchell, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, a predominantly Italian neighbourhood of Sudbury. He played his first organized basketball in Grade 8 on his school team, St. Francis School. By grade 10, Pasquale's height was a mere 5 feet, 3 inches.
Pasquale starred at the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
, leading the Vikings to five straight CIAU
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...
championships. He stands as the school's all-time leading scorer, was a three-time CIAU all-star, and has had his jersey number 13 retired. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
106th overall in the fifth round of the 1984 NBA Draft
1984 NBA Draft
The 1984 NBA Draft was the 38th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on June 19, 1984 before the 1984–85 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft,...
and played in 3 exhibition games for the team before being released. He played in the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
for Seattle and the Los Angeles Summer Pro League in 1985 and earned a try-out with the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
, but failed to make the club. He then played professionally in Argentina in 1986, West Germany in 1989, and Switzerland in 1990.
Pasquale was a member of the Canadian national team at various levels over 15 years. He led the Canadians to a fourth place finish at both the 1984 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics
-Group B:-Championship bracket:-Classification brackets:5th–8th Place9th–12th Place-Preliminary Round:...
and the 1982 FIBA World Championship
1982 FIBA World Championship
The 1982 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Colombia from August 15 to 28 , 1982.-Venues:- Competing nations :- Preliminary round :-Group A:-Group B:-Group C:-Classification round:-Final round:...
. He was also a prominent member of 1983 World University Games
1983 Summer Universiade
The 1983 Summer Universiade, also known as the XII Summer Universiade, took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between July 1 and 12, 1983. Over 2,400 athletes from 73 countries participated....
team that won the gold medal by defeating in the semi-finals the United States led by Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...
and Karl Malone
Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone , nicknamed "The Mailman", is a retired American professional basketball power forward who spent the majority of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association . Malone spent his first 18 seasons with the Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate...
and in the finals Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national basketball team
The Yugoslavian national basketball team represented the Kingdom and socialist Yugoslavia. Its of governing body was the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia, whose seat was in Belgrade....
led by Dražen Petrović
Dražen Petrovic
Dražen Petrović was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s before joining the American NBA in 1989...
.
At age 37, he returned to national team play for the 1997 Tournament of the Americas
1997 Tournament of the Americas
The 1997 Tournament of the Americas, known now as the FIBA Americas Championship, was a basketball championship hosted by Uruguay from August 21 to August 31, 1997. The games were played in Montevideo. This FIBA Americas Championship was to earn the four berths allocated to the Americas for the...
, after a five year absence, to help the Canadians qualify for the 1998 FIBA World Championship
1998 FIBA World Championship
The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...
. However, he did not play in this tournament.
Pasquale was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the BC Sports Hall of Fame
BC Sports Hall of Fame
For over 40 years, the community has entrusted the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum with the responsibility to collect, preserve, study, and interpret materials that relate to British Columbia’s rich sport history...
in 2004. For the past 20 plus years he has operated Eli Pasquale Sports Group, a business that operates basketball camps for youths.