2021 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Penka Stoyanova
MIES (Switzerland) - Penka Stoyanova is being honored for her impressive career and achievements with the Bulgarian legend chosen for induction into the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
MIES (Switzerland) - The impressive career and achievements of Penka Stoyanova is being honored after the Bulgarian legend was chosen to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Stoyanova is being inducted in the Class of 2021 posthumously, along with other legendary players Zheng Haixia (China), Hana Horakova (Czech Republic), Panagiotis Giannakis (Greece), Stanislav Kropilak (Slovakia), Oscar Moglia (Uruguay - posthumously), Detlef Schrempf (Germany), Sergey Tarakanov (Russia) and Mathieu Faye (Senegal) and coaching greats Chuck Daly (USA - posthumously), Tom Maher (Australia) and Ettore Messina (Italy).
A two-time Olympian, Stoyanova featured in a staggering 580 national team games for her country. The pinnacle of her accomplishments was when she helped propel Bulgaria to a historic maiden Olympic medal in 1976, collecting bronze in Montreal while pouring in almost 20 points per game. Four years later in Moscow, Stoyanova and her Bulgarian teammates went one better by leading the nation to their first-ever Final and a silver medal.
The remarkable longevity Stoyanova showed during her career is highlighted by the fact that she appeared in no fewer than eight editions of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket between 1968 and 1981. The high point came when Bulgaria made the title game in 1972. She was also the centerpiece of a dominant Bulgaria team in the Balkan Games where they garnered eight gold medals.
The skills and impact of Stoyanova also led to her being the first Bulgarian female player to play professionally outside of her homeland.
| Name | Penka Stoyanova |
| Category of Inductee | Player (Center) - posthumous |
| Date of birth | 21st January 1950 – 16th August 2019 |
| Place of birth | Karlovo, Bulgaria |
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Height | 1.83 m – 6ft 0in |
| Clubs | Maritsa Plovdiv (1971-1979) Roma (1981-1983) [/unordered] |
| Club highlights | Three-time Bulgarian League champion (1971,1973,1974) Four-time Bulgarian Cup silver medalist Four-time Bulgarian Cup bronze medalist Two Ronchetti Cup Finals [/unordered] |
| National Team highlights | Olympic Games silver medalist (1980) Olympic Games bronze medalist (1976) FIBA Women's EuroBasket silver medalist (1972) Played at eight FIBA Women's EuroBasket tournaments (1968,1970,1972,1974,1976,1978,1980,1981) Eight-time Balkan Games gold medalist Played in 12 Balkan Games World Festival silver medalist (1973) William Jones Cup bronze medalist (1983) Two third-place finishes at Youth Festival and Universiades [/unordered] |
| Individual highlights | Played 580 games for the Bulgarian national team Captain of the national team from 1974 until 1981, including at three editions of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket First Bulgarian player to play professionally abroad Two-time Best Athlete of Plovdiv Honorary Citizen of Karlovo (1985) Honorary Citizen of Plovdiv (2000) 2004 Olympic torch bearer Best athlete of the Aveline International Tournament (1969) [/unordered] |
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