Horacio "Tato" López (Uruguay)

Arguably, Uruguay’s participation on international basketball courts has been illuminated by three stars: Adesio Lombardo and Oscar Moglia, during the mid-part of the 20th Century; and Horacio “Tato” López, a scoring machine who participated in professional leagues across South America (Argentina, Brasil and his home-country, Uruguay) and Italy.

Amongst that, his career-highlight came during the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in 1984, where he was the cornerstone for the Uruguayans’ unexpected sixth place. There, he was the tournament’s best scorer with an average of 24.9 points per game, 7.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

From that trinity of stars, Lombardo was also the best scorer in two Olympic Games, London and Helsinki, in 1948 and 1952, respectively. On the other hand, Moglia was the best scorer in Melbourne, in 1956.

With an impressive physic, reaching 6’6’’ and 210 lbs, Lopez (who was born on January 22, 1961, in Montevideo) made his National Team debut when he was 15 years old. He attacked his opponents with unmerciful resilience using every offensive weapon available at that time. With this offensive arsenal, and with the help of Wilfredo “Fefo” Ruiz, they formed the most powerful offensive duo in the history of South American basketball.

Together, Lopez and Ruiz (who later changed his nationality to Argentinean), were the heroes in the Uruguayan’s feat in 1984, when they beat his rivals from France and China, and were able to keep up their attack even in loses against Canada, Spain and the United States; who would later crowned itself against the Spaniards, while the Yugoslavian finished in third place for the bronze.

In that team also played point guard Carlos Peinado and center Heber Nuñez, and his 6’7” battling against better and stronger players.

For Lopez, Basketball was not only a game; he lived it, considering it more an art form than a sport. He turned a court into a canvas and his baskets were like brushes, scoring in high fashion for the C.A. Bohemios in Uruguay, with a career- average of 31.7 points and 9.1 rebounds. In 1981, during the Latin Cup, played in Panama, he scored 26.6 points per game.

He dominated the international stage, particularly the South American championships. He also played on two William Jones cup (later to be known as the Stankovic Cup). His international participation at the Club level was highlighted by his participation with the Mobil team in Italy (during the 1985-86 season). He gained notoriety during the Korac Cup, one of the most important in the Old World.

In the Argentinean National League, he played initially for the Ferrocarril Oeste (1987), and then with the Olimpo of Bahía Blanca. There, he was publicly acclaimed by the sport press and the fans for his scoring abilities.
After that, he traveled to the Paulista League in Brasil, playing with the Rovelli Franca, where he continued his successful career, which came to an end with the Pre-Olympic in Portland in 1992, where he was crowned again as the tournament’s best scorer.

As part of his basketball formation, he was part of the Quince College from the NAIA (USA) in 1977. Two years later, he played for the Hutchinson Junior College, taking part with this team in the William Jones Cup in Sarajevo.
After he retired, he traveled around the World to countries as far as the India, where he discovered his love for writing; with his biography recently published.

Additionally, he has been in charge of the coordination of the players’ developmental program in Uruguay and was assistant coach to Nestor Garcia, during the FIBA Americas Championship 2003, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

FIBA Americas