Bozhidar Takev, Bulgaria's Mr Basketball, has died at the age of 89.

Sir Bo, as Takev was known in Bulgaria, enjoyed his greatest success as coach of Academic Sofia, guiding them to consecutive European Champions Cup finals in 1958 and 1959.

Takev was assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1985 and helped Georgi Glouchkov, the first player from Eastern Europe to play in the NBA, to settle in the US.

Takev was also an international referee and officiated the match between the US and the Soviet Union at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960.