Manuel Raga Navarro (born March 14, 1944 in Aldama, Tamaulipas

Aldama, Tamaulipas

Aldama is a municipality of the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It was founded on April 26, 1790 under the name of Villa de Presa del Rey.-Geography:...

) is a retired Mexican

Mexican people

Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....

 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.

Career

Nicknamed the "Flying Mexican", Raga played professionally for Pallacanestro Varese

Pallacanestro Varese

-Notable players:-Notable coaches: Aleksandar Nikolić Nico Messina Sandro Gamba Edoardo Rusconi Joe Isaac Carlo Recalcati Valerio Bianchini Ruben Magnano-Sponsorship names:Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:...

 in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 from 1968 to 1973 and won 3 Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 championships.

In 1970, he became the first player from an international league to be selected in the 1970 NBA Draft

1970 NBA Draft

The 1970 NBA Draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on March 23, 1970 before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...

 when Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

 general manager Marty Blake

Marty Blake

Marty Blake is the Director of Scouting Services for the National Basketball Association and founder of Marty Blake and Associates, a basketball scouting firm. He previously served as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks franchise.-Early career:...

 took him with the 167th overall pick. However, Raga never played in the NBA.

External links

• Euroleague.net 50 greatest contributors
• Career basketpedya.com
• Out of the South. NBA.com. Retrieved 20 August 2007.
• Manuel Raga, Mexico, InterBasket. Retrieved 20 August 2007.