Eli Pasquale

Who is Eli Pasquale?

Ilario Enrico Pasquale is a former star Canadian basketball player. A 6-foot, 1-inch point guard, he led the Canadian national men's basketball team during two Olympic Games, three FIBA World Championships, and two Pan-American Games.

Pasquale grew up in Gatchell, Ontario, 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, leading the Vikings to five straight CIAU 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 106th overall in the fifth round of the 1984 NBA Draft and played in 3 exhibition games for the team before being released. He played in the Amateur Athletic Union for Seattle and the Los Angeles Summer Pro League in 1985 and earned a try-out with the Chicago Bulls, 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 and the 1982 FIBA World Championship. He was also a prominent member of 1983 World University Games team that won the gold medal by defeating in the semi-finals the United States led by Charles Barkley and Karl Malone and in the finals Yugoslavia led by Dražen Petrović.